Micah Richards rushed to counter the sense of disapproval surrounding Timo Werner’s debut campaign for Chelsea.
Speaking on the BBC Monday Night Club, Richards wanted to rescue Werner from the critics he’s faced this campaign.
Admittedly, the lows have probably outweighed the highs during the German’s maiden spell in English football.
He finished the Premier League term with six goals, 28 down from his final farewell in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig.
Werner’s frequency at being caught offside- 27 times in total according to the league website– has also contributed to the frustration encompassing his output.
However, the 25-year-old scored 12 times and provided 15 assists in all competitions, the highest combination of any Chelsea player.
Unlucky for some
Richards felt most of the displeasure thrown at the Blues no.11 was unwarranted.
“Werner has been unlucky,” said the former Manchester City defender.
“I don’t buy into the fact that Werner’s is not a good striker. He’s had 12 or 13 goals given offside.
“He’s been very unlucky. He’s had one off the bar. One came off his arm. He’s been so unlucky.
“In a different season, seven or eight of those go in and we say ‘actually, he’s done alright this season.’
“I don’t buy into that he’s not a good striker. His runs are devastating. I would hate to play against him because he’s relentless. He keeps going and going and going.”
Work rate Werner
One thing that cannot be taken away from Werner is the willingness to work for his team.
An extremely unselfish individual, the £45m (Sky Sports) man sacrifices a lot of energy to stretch opposition defences.
Unfortunately, it is often this eagerness that catches him out.
Sometimes too quick for his own good, Werner has struck up a sour relationship with VAR and the linesman flag.
The timings of his runs are often a fraction too early and in the modern game of microscopic margins, this will always be caught out.
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