Timo Werner is already being written off by some fans at Chelsea.

There was real optimism around Stamford Bridge when the Blues signed an RB Leipzig striker fresh from contending for the European Golden Shoe with 34 goals in 45 appearances.

It was a fantastic season that put him in the shop window for the continent's biggest clubs, eventually completing a move to Chelsea after protracted speculation about a Liverpool switch.

Werner's early days at Chelsea

However, while his arrival sparked claims that he could become the Premier League's leading poacher, his start to life in England has already seen him branded as a 'flop' by many supporters.

Despite flashes of brilliance, Werner is currently without a goal in ten league games and produced a woeful miss during the 1-0 win at Fulham this weekend after being introduced off the bench.

As a result, things aren't looking good for Werner in west London... or are they? Well, here at GIVEMESPORT, we wanted to play devil's advocate because we think the German is being treated a little harshly.

Six reasons Werner isn't a flop

In fact, we think there are enough statistics, general observations and circumstantial evidence to feel pretty confident that claims Werner has been a 'flop' at Chelsea are reactive, hyperbolic nonsense.

Don't believe us? Well, here are six reasons why we think Werner is being hard done by right now:

1. Underrated goal-scoring rate

Let's put Werner's goal-scoring record into context because, despite his recent drought of ten Premier League fixtures, his overall stats of nine goals in 26 Chelsea games is far from terrible.

In fact, by way of giving him a goal-per-game ratio of 0.346, it means that only five Chelsea strikers since the turn of the century have actually been more lethal - does that sound like a flop to you?

Admittedly, two of the five are Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud, while Didier Drogba, Diego Costa and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink complete the set, but make no mistake that his data is actually pretty solid.

2. Chelsea's top goalscorer this season

And speaking of data, lest we forget that nobody in the entire Chelsea squad has actually scored more goals than Werner this season, which seems pretty incongruous with the label of 'flop', right?

Werner shares the highest step of the podium with Giroud on nine strikes, while Abraham is breathing down his neck on eight, but the German is otherwise comfortably clear of the pack.

Besides, for context, if Werner can score nine goals in the second half of the season just as he has in the first, then he'll actually produce a better debut scoring total than Drogba's 16 goals in 2004/05.

3. Lampard has been playing him out of position

Ok, yes, I'm sure this point has been bludgeoned over your head for the past few weeks but in my eyes, it's less to do with Werner being played out wide and more to do with him being constantly moved around.

The former Leipzig man has been unable to get any consistency in the Chelsea starting XI when he's been played quite literally everywhere across the front three at times this season.

According to WhoScored.com, albeit including his Germany outings, Werner has played 14 times on the left, eight times through the middle, twice back in midfield and even once on the right-hand side.

4. Precedent for first season struggles

More of a general point, this, but there are so many instances of players with proven quality on the continent flopping during their first season in the Premier League before establishing themselves as club heroes.

So, even if Werner's goal-scoring drought continues for weeks to come, rest assured that there would still be reasons to be optimistic - and we can think of at least seven promising case studies.

The likes of Fred, Heung-min Son, David de Gea, Patrice Evra, Robert Pires, Michael Essien and Luis Suarez all had tough opening years, only pull through with their sophomore efforts.

5. He's been unlucky

In other words, this isn't all Werner's fault because he arrived at Stamford Bridge amidst serious upheaval at the club and yes, Lampard's positional rotation would also factor into this category.

However, it's also worth bearing in mind that Werner has actually hit the woodwork the joint-most times of any player in the Premier League this season, level with Leanardo Trossard on five.

And we also need to adjust our standards of a 'flop' in general when we're wading through an unprecedented year where Werner had little to no pre-season to gel with his new teammates.

6. Undoubted energy and eye for an assist

Now, look, this is for those of you have who been reading this article and thinking we've become too transfixed on stats because sometimes the simple eye-test of a player can be enough to sense their quality. 

While, yes, some of Werner's woeful misses may be coming to mind, park those thoughts for a second and recall just how punchy, energetic and forward-thinking he's looked in a Chelsea shirt.

Do you know what? Sure, the end product hasn't been there on countless occasions, though four assists is a good return, but it's a massive, positive indicator for somebody looking to thrive in English football.

So, have we convinced you or do you still think Werner has been stinking the place out?

Well, either way, just know that the 24-year-old is still only halfway through his first season in England and we're a long way away from finding out whether he'll join Chelsea's striking curse.