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Per a report in Bild that currently resides behind a paywall, the Bayern Munich bosses have huddled to discuss the possibility of acquiring RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner.
What happens when Robert Lewandowski goes? Bayern bosses Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Hasan Salihamidzic met on Wednesday to consult. If Lewandowski goes, does national striker Timo Werner arrive? The striker would cost between 100 and 120 million euros.
Werner is a dynamic, blazing fast striker, who also has some experience playing a wing position from his time at VfB Stuttgart. Considered by many to be Germany’s top option at the “9”, a potential move to Munich would seem like a natural fit should Robert Lewandowski’s transfer dreams come true.
The interesting part of that clipping from Bild is the asking price, which is allegedly €100M-€120M. Transfermarkt lists Werner’s value at €60M and the true cost for Werner is probably somewhere in between those figures. If Bayern is preparing an offer for Werner, this is likely just the start of a long negotiation process that will extend for the summer until some other situations (cough *Lewandowski*cough) are resolved.
RB Leipzig’s football operations are in deep debt (as detailed here, here, and here) to a few entities, including the company’s primary business. Selling a high-priced asset like Werner could be in the best interest of the overall organization, whether it is actually good for the football team or not.
The transfer fee from Naby Keita (€65M) that will be secured from Liverpool will undoubtedly help Leipzig’s financial duress, but procuring even a middle ground of €80M for Werner would make a huge difference in the bottom line for Leipzig as it works to build a sustainable and profitable soccer business.
As for Werner, the World Cup could be seen as his launching pad. A truly great performance will take his high stock and have it skyrocket, while a poor showing will give large, powerful clubs some doubt as to whether or not Werner can perform on the big stage.