Chelsea Reportedly Agree Deal to Sign Timo Werner

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Blues fans and some connected journalists seem confident that Liverpool have been thoroughly gazumped.

After seeming like a lock to end up at Anfield for much of the past year, today widespread reports have Timo Werner on the verge of completing a move to Chelsea instead, with the player said to have agreed to join the London club.

Journalists with ties to the club, including The Telegraph’s Matt Law, are reporting that Chelsea are now prepared to trigger Werner’s release clause, and with Liverpool stalling for time the player is said to be open to their approach.

This is an especially surprising twist given multiple reports in recent weeks had Jürgen Klopp in regular contact with Werner and the player willing to wait for the season to end and the Reds to try to find a way to make a deal work.

Liverpool had been asking for the player to be patient and wait due to the financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, which had made them leery of triggering Werner’s 50M release clause as it would have to be paid up front.

Now, they seem to be facing a difficult choice—of paying that fee and hoping Klopp’s relationship with Werner will tip the scales back in their favour, or of seeing their top attacking target join a Premier League rival.

Neither would be an especially palatable option, though for worried Liverpool fans it’s perhaps worth remembering that during the pursuit of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson there were also stories claiming they were set to miss out.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com