Timo Werner hints at Leipzig departure

With Robert Lewandowski reportedly looking at a move away from Munich (or maybe not?), there has been a lot of speculation on who Bayern may look to bring in should they be forced willing to sell Lewandowski (see: here, here). A hot name that’s been thrown around for a few years now has been Timo Werner. Werner, 22, has impressed in two years for Leipzig, scoring 42 goals in 77 games in all competitions. He’s added a further 7 for Germany, 3 of which came in Germany’s Confederations Cup win last summer. He also provided the tournament winning assist to Lars Stindl in the final against Chile.

Rumors had surfaced over the last few days claiming Karl Heinz Rummennigge and Hassan Salihamidzic had met to discuss a possible transfer of Werner should Lewandowski depart the club this summer.

Now, Werner himself has added fire to the fuel. In an interview with die Welt, Werner indicated that a move was not a matter of it, but when.

To become a world class player I probably need to play for an even better team at the club level. I want to be honest. Naby Keita didn’t become a world class player with us, but he could possibly become one now at Liverpool.

Werner indicated that it didn’t mean he was looking to move on from Leipzig any time soon, saying, “I have four or five years to learn to then become World Class.” Still, it’s hard to believe that if Werner plays a good world cup he won’t be considering his options. Many have used the world cup as a launching pad to catapult themselves onto better teams. It worked for Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira in 2010, and should Werner impress, he’ll have clubs lined up for his signature, with Bayern undoubtedly being one of them should Lewandowski depart.