A change of heart? RB Leipzig has now given Timo Werner an ultimatum

Earlier today, RB Leipzig sporting director Markus Krösche said that the club would not be putting an ultimatum on Timo Werner with regard to his potential transfer away from the club. The club is obviously eager to have a resolution to the saga, which may be causing some internal confusion.

Die Roten Bullen CEO Oliver Mintzlaff does not seem to have as much patience as Krösche. In a report from Goal, Mintzlaff brushed off Krösche’s prior assertion and said that RB Leipzig would, indeed, place an ultimatum on Werner. The 23-year-old star will have to finalize his plans prior to the start of the season (August 18th). Among the teams rumored to be pursuing Werner are Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, but the Bavarians are considered to be only real bidder at this stage.

RB Leipzig badly wants Werner to extend his contract with the club, but also does not want to let this situation drag out much longer. In addition, RB Leipzig is also at risk of losing the player for free after the 2019-2020 season.

Mintzlaff did leave much ambiguity as to how he expects things to play out from this point forward:

It is desirable that we have a solution before the start of the league, and we can and want to comply with this timing. We are in constructive and good talks that will lead to a result. We have presented a contract offer to Timo and his consultant, we stand to that and we do not need to improve it.

What effect Mintzlaff’s expedited timeline has on Werner’s planning remains to be seen.