Chelsea star contacts Timo Werner and tells him to snub Liverpool and Man Utd

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has reached out to Germany teammate Timo Werner to convince him to snub Liverpool and Manchester United and move to Stamford Bridge instead.

The RB Leipzig forward is one of Europe’s most in-demand players, with Liverpool believed to be at the front of the queue after Jurgen Klopp spoke to his compatriot on a Zoom call.

But, in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, Liverpool are no longer willing to pay up Werner’s £50million release clause and value him at closer to £30m.

That has reopened the door for the likes of United – with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keen to strengthen his attack – but Chelsea have also emerged as a genuine contender for Werner’s signature and now have an ace up their sleeve.

According to SportBild, Rudiger is good friends with Werner and has been messaging the forward to try and convince him to move to west London.

The pair played together at Stuttgart until 2015, when Rudiger moved to Roma on loan, and have remained close, also teaming up with the German national team and winning the Confederations Cup together.

Werner has been in sensational form for Leipzig once again this season, scoring 24 goals in 28 Bundesliga appearances, while he has also laid on seven assists.

He has previously hinted that he is ready to leave the club for a new challenge and would prefer to move away from Germany.

‘A challenge in a foreign league would appeal to me rather than a move to Bayern,’ he told Bild earlier this month.

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard is believed to be eager to bring in more firepower this summer, with Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshuayi both surplus to requirements despite the Frenchman signing a contract extension.

Lampard wants cover and competition for Tammy Abraham and Werner would provide that in abundance, while he would bring much-needed goals with Chelsea’s second highest scorer, Mason Mount, only netting six times.

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