3 potential replacements for Timo Werner at Chelsea

Timo Werner’s Chelsea career came to a premature end when the club decided to cut their losses and offload him this summer. The German forward ended up returning to RB Leipzig, the club from whom the Blues had signed him.

Werner won the Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea, but his stint won’t go down well in the history books. In 89 appearances for the Premier League giants, he only scored 23 goals while providing 21 assists. Werner gained an infamous reputation for missing easy chances and struggled to lead the line for Chelsea.

But now that he is gone, the Blues need a replacement. Having offloaded Romelu Lukaku as well, Chelsea are short in numbers up-front. They need a quality, efficient goal-scorer who can add more goals to the side. So let’s look at the three potential replacements for Werner at Chelsea.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to betray Arsenal with Chelsea move?

Since Barcelona’s stunning move to sign Robert Lewandowski, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s role at the club has lost some importance. For one, he isn’t an undisputed starter for the La Liga side anymore and has been forced to a bench role.

But Aubameyang still remains a clinical goal-scorer with a real eye for goal. Chelsea need some experience in their attack and the Gabonese forward can do that, having already played in the Premier League with Arsenal. The Blues are reportedly pushing to sign Aubameyang and he can be an ideal short-term replacement for Werner.

The 33-year-old has 310 goals in his domestic career, gaining the reputation of a real goal machine. With the kind of quality around him at Chelsea and their swift, efficient attacking style creating plenty of chances for strikers – Aubameyang should be an ideal fit for Thomas Tuchel’s side.

Patrik Schick

While Chelsea might be a bit nervous against buying another player from the Bundesliga after watching how Werner worked out, they could go for one prolific striker from the league. Bayer Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick remains one of the more underrated strikers in Europe right now.

Having scored 24 goals in 27 Bundesliga appearances last season, he showcased his skills as a quality goal-scorer. The 26-year-old’s finishing ability is among his biggest strengths, while he also possesses a major threat on counter-attacks and holding-up play (via WhoScored). He is valued at around €50m (as per Transfermarkt) and has proved himself capable of thriving in major competitions as he was the co-winner of the Euro 2020 Golden Boot award.

Schick can basically be a more prolific version of Kai Havertz, as he doesn’t need many chances to score and possesses the physicality to thrive in England.

Andrea Belotti

If Chelsea are seeking to sign a cheap, yet effective striker – one underrated option is still there in the market. Andrea Belotti is yet to find a club after having left Torino in the summer. He scored 113 goals in over 250 appearances for the Serie A club, leading from the front and ensuring their stay in the top flight for many years.

Belotti’s an Italy international who knows how to play in a more defensive system where he might have to drop deep to get things done. WhoScored claims long-distancing shooting ability and indirect set-piece threat as some of his biggest threats, which can help bring a new dimension to Chelsea’s attacking style.

Belotti’s crisp finishing ability and bulldog mentality can help him be a solid addition to Tuchel’s side and a viable short-term solution to the goal-scoring issues.