BERLIN • At the end of the January transfer window, Frank Lampard was easily the most frustrated manager in the Premier League after failing to add to his squad despite every indication otherwise.
The Chelsea boss was denied the opportunity to sign players last summer due to a transfer ban imposed by Fifa, so it came as a surprise that they did not bolster their top-four bid with fresh faces.
Lampard then expressed his fears his fourth-placed side could be overtaken in the race for a Champions League place next season.
But Chelsea soon announced a £37 million (S$65.3 million) deal for Ajax winger Hakim Ziyech in February to dampen rumours the board was not financially backing the club great. The Blues went one better yesterday, with various media outlets reporting they had agreed a deal with one of the world's most sought-after strikers in RB Leipzig's Timo Werner.
Chelsea are said to have triggered his release clause, understood to be in the range of £54 million, with the 24-year-old agreeing a five-year deal worth £200,000 per week.
According to German daily Bild, the move is set to be made official next week once the details have been sorted out.
Werner had been thought to have attracted interest from Premier League champions-elect Liverpool, who are just two wins from their first English title in 30 years. But that interest never materialised, with the BBC reporting that the Reds were never in for the Germany international, who had been the subject of heavy speculation in recent weeks with his release clause expiring on June 15.
The move for Werner represents a major coup for Chelsea.
He has netted 75 goals in 122 Bundesliga games for Leipzig, firing them into the last eight of this season's Champions League. Only Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski has scored more league goals (110) since Werner moved from Stuttgart in August 2016.
Former Tottenham midfielder Steffen Freund believes his compatriot will have no problems adjusting to the Premier League's all-action style.
"He's so quick in the box, in the area where he scores goals," he said. "His movement is dangerous. You can't touch him. He comes from outside to inside, suddenly, he's in the box and he's an outstanding finisher."
Former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol was disappointed manager Jurgen Klopp chose not to sign Werner, telling ESPN the Reds "have slipped up here".
He added: "No question, he would have kept the front three (Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane) - as great as they are and have been - it would have kept them on their toes."
The arrivals of Werner and Ziyech are clear signs the Blues are preparing for a title tilt next season.
Lampard's men will take on Aston Villa away on June 21 in their first game in over three months since the season was halted because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Blues have a three-point lead over fifth-placed Manchester United with nine games left.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
