Tottenham on Saturday night agreed a shock move to sign former Chelsea forward Timo Werner on loan from Red Bull Leipzig.
The Germany international is due to arrive in London on Sunday to finalise terms and undergo a medical once he has been given permission to travel from Leipzig’s training camp in La Manga, Spain.
Werner was left out of Leipzig’s 1-0 friendly win over St Gallen on Saturday as coach Marco Rose confirmed: ‘It’s right that Timo wants to go on loan. Timo would like to go to the European Championships. We wish him all the best and are keeping our fingers crossed for him.’
The 27-year-old had made 14 appearances, predominantly from the bench this season and scored twice.
Manchester United and Aston Villa were understood to be among the clubs who had been sounded out about his availability but talks with Tottenham accelerated on Friday.
Timo Werner is set for shock return to the Premier League with a loan move to Tottenham
Ange Postecoglou’s play for the forward has gone under the radar, with many thinking Man United could have tempted Werner away from the Bundesliga
The 27-year-old has fallen behind Lois Openda in the striking pecking order at RB Leipzig
Negotiations around the structure of the transfer were being finalised on Saturday with Tottenham agreeing to pay Werner’s estimated £4.5million salary for the rest of the season in full while the deal also includes an option to buy for around £14.5m.
The move has raised eyebrows as Werner’s stint with bitter rivals Chelsea was not viewed as a success. However, Tottenham coach Ange Postecoglou views Werner’s pace and selfless work ethic as ideal qualities to suit his tactics and his squad.
Tottenham will be without Son Heung-min for around a month as he represents South Korea in the Asia Cup while Alejo Veliz has suffered a knee injury and there is interest from Saudi Arabia in Richarlison, though that is likely to be rebuffed until the summer at least.
But strengthening their forward line was viewed as second priority to bringing in a centre-back this month. They remain on course to fulfil that requirement as positive talks continue with Genoa over a £22m deal for Romania defender Radu Dragusin, 21.
For Werner’s part, he will be determined to prove himself in the Premier League this time around.
He arrived at Chelsea from Leipzig for £47.5m with a reputation for being a prolific goalscorer but he struggled to adapt and a series of missed chances saw his confidence wane.
He still managed 23 goals in 89 games but it wasn’t enough to justify Chelsea’s outlay and they took a huge hit by selling him back to Leipzig for £18m plus add-ons in 2022.
Erik ten Hag was keen to pull greater attacking options to Old Trafford during the window
Although his return started with promise he has since struggled to nail down a starting place with Leipzig adding Benjamin Sesko and Lois Openda to their squad. Now he is hoping he can rebuild his reputation under Postecoglou and earn a recall to the German national side.
Meanwhile, Eric Dier is awaiting updates from Bayern Munich about whether they will pursue a move for him this month. Postecoglou bristled when questioned whether Dier’s injury was the real reason the 29-year-old missed Friday night’s FA Cup win over Burnley.
The Tottenham boss then underlined that despite a hamstring injury to Ben Davies, he would still be willing to let Dier leave after ten years at the club. It is understood Tottenham would still want a fee, despite Dier being out of contract in the summer and being free to speak to foreign clubs now.
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