Timo Werner has not had the best of times since joining Chelsea from RB Leipzig last summer.
The German has struggled to find any real consistency in front of goal after arriving at Stamford Bridge - his indifferent form seeing the Blues dip into the transfer market once again with the club record signing of Romelu Lukaku.
Whilst the Belgian’s transfer looked just the solution that the Blues needed ahead of the 2021/22 season, he too has not been in the best of form with five goals in 15 outings, whilst he has also only just recovered from a somewhat troubling injury.
Amid a start against Zenit, it is clear that the 28-year-old is still returning to full fitness, a view that was shared by Blues cult hero Joe Cole.
Speaking ahead of the clash in Russia, he said: “Thomas Tuchel said in his interview Romelu needs to understand that he needs to get match-fit.
“Obviously Lukaku has been champing to get back on the pitch. Thomas Tuchel has bided time, giving him 30 minutes. So, he will be hungry.
"He needs to do a bit more of holding up the ball and Crouchy was the master of this. I think this is what he has added to his game. Romelu himself will tell you before he was injured he’s not been at the level his can be at. He wants to get back to his level and will need games. He gives Chelsea such a focal point. I would have loved to play with him as a midfielder."
With Chelsea challenging on multiple fronts for the remainder of the campaign, it could well be a problem that their first-choice striker might need some time to return to his best form.
Nevertheless, Werner appears to have finally stepped up and displayed his potential to fill the void with an excellent performance against Zenit - easing Tuchel's potential headache in the process.
The German was on hand to open the scoring for the Blues early on, whilst he also netted late in the match. It is just the third time in his Chelsea career that Werner has scored two goals in a game.
His contributions did not end there, though, as he was intelligent enough to spring Zenit’s offside trap and roll the ball across the face of goal for Lukaku to equalise. Cole was certainly a fan of the striker’s display in Russia, hailing it as his ‘best game’ for the club since his arrival.
"So many positive performances," he said. "Timo Werner played his best game in a Chelsea shirt. Kepa was outstanding in goal. He had so much to do, we haven’t seen Chelsea keepers with that much work in recent months. There were enough questions as well."
Whilst it may be early days to suggest that Werner could go on to become the clinical forward that Chelsea thought they were signing, his current form bodes extremely well as Lukaku continues his path back to full fitness.
