Chelsea ace Timo Werner admits he is excited by prospect of playing with Romelu Lukaku

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By Tom Ward

Published Aug 10, 2021

Chelsea ace admits he is excited by the prospect of playing alongside Romelu Lukaku.

Timo Werner reckons Romelu Lukaku will bring out the best in him at Chelsea next season.

The Blues have agreed in principle a club-record deal worth £97.5 million to re-sign the Belgian striker from Inter Milan, according to reports.

And though both players could end up competing for a place in the starting line-up, Werner has revealed that the prospect of playing alongside Lukaku is one that excites him.

He told Football Daily: "He's probably one of the best three strikers in the world at the moment.

"No question. I don't think we need to say too much about him.

"He's a world-class striker who would benefit any team. I certainly think at Leipzig it always helped me having a big striker alongside me.

"I think that's always good because I'm not the biggest and when you play on your own upfront you obviously always have the attention of one or two brawling defenders.

"It's a good new weapon to have in our game when you know that if you play a long ball he'll hold it up and then the fast players around him can set off. I think that's good for any team."

Thomas Tuchel, who guided the Blues to Champions League glory against Manchester City, has backed his star to add to his six league goals for the club this season.

The manager added: "Maybe it's sometimes also a question of... It is a question of composure but it is a question of experience.

"Having now a second year in Premier League for Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, a second year for Hakim Ziyech.

"So, like, adapting and not everything new will be a huge point, and I'm confident, but it's a mix of everything."

Tuchel had initial hopes of signing Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund this summer. He has also been interested in Robert Lewandowski and Harry Kane.

But the 21-year-old will remain at the Signal Iduna Park next term after Dortmund turned down a player-plus-cash proposal from Marina Granovskaia.

Tuchel, who will take charge of the Blues at Windsor Park in Belfast for the UEFA Super Cup final against Villareal tomorrow night, told Sky Sports: “Romelu is one of the guys like Haaland at Dortmund, Lewandowski at Bayern Munich, Harry Kane at Tottenham, who is a real No. 9 who loves to score and who has a presence in the box.

"That is not a secret. The sentence is easy to repeat for any coach in the world.

“He is the kind of profile we’re looking for, and if it is possible to convince agents and clubs, we will do our best.

“We lost Olivier Giroud, who played a crucial role in the club. He was the kind of profile who likes to play with his back to goal, who likes to hold up balls, who creates space for Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, who is ready to fight physically with defenders.

“This is the kind of profile that we don’t have in our squad right now and that we are looking for. It’s still not the moment to talk about names, because we have nobody signed yet and we will show all the respect to other clubs.”