Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has said that Timo Werner’s confidence is one of the main reasons why he started against Leeds United on Saturday afternoon.
The German was selected to lead the line at Stamford Bridge, with club-record signing Romelu Lukaku surprisingly left on the bench.
It is just the striker’s second start in the Premier League in his last eight games, whilst it is just his sixth league start of the campaign in all.
However, Tuchel has revealed that the ex-RB Leipzig forward’s positive recent form was reason enough to name him in the starting line-up.
Speaking ahead of kick-off at Stamford Bridge, Tuchel said: “He has confidence from scoring and assisting, so why take him out? It’s this simple, he plays because he played very well in midweek and so he stays on the pitch.”
Werner was of course pivotal in Chelsea’s 3-3 draw with Zenit St Petersburg in midweek. He opened the scoring in Russia, whilst his late strike seemed like it would hand the Blues victory only for the hosts to score a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser.
He also displayed his creative abilities by setting up strike partner Lukaku for his second-half strike.
It goes without saying that Werner will have been keen to end his somewhat inconsistent form in the Premier League against Leeds.
Ahead of the game, he had netted just one Premier League goal - that coming in the 3-1 victory against Southampton back in October.
The striker has struggled to find consistent form since his move to England having netted just seven league goals in 43 appearances for the Blues.
As a result, he has been linked with a move away from Chelsea ahead of the January transfer window, with Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund emerging as the most likely candidates for his services.
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