Doing a deal in January is difficult. Negotiations are never easy, as clubs are often reluctant to let go of players midway through the season. Timo Werner’s loan move from RB Leipzig to Tottenham is an exception to the rule, though. Everyone involved quickly came to an agreement.
Why? Because both clubs saw an opportunity to resolve a problem – and wanted to resolve it as swiftly and painlessly as possible. “It’s a win-win,” as Leipzig’s sporting director Mario Gomez put it.
Tottenham desperately needed to strengthen an attack significantly weakened by the unavailability of Son Heung-min for at least the next two weeks, while Leipzig wanted to remove a superfluous striker on a significant salary from their wage bill. As for Werner, he was on board from the get-go because he simply has to start scoring again if he is to have any hope of representing Germany on home soil at Euro 2024.
In that sense, there’s an awful lot to like about this deal. But Werner flopped during his previous spell in the Premier League – will his second stint really be any different?