"Luckily I didn't have to sing!"
Our number 11 is back in Leipzig | Timo Werner speaks to the media after rejoining the club
Timo is a Red Bull again! Our number 11 has returned to RB Leipzig. The 26-year-old spoke to the media at a press conference after his signing and discussed his first day back in Leipzig, his time in England and goals for the season.
Timo Werner on...
... His first 24 hours back in Leipzig:
"My first day back in Leipzig was very tiring and hectic, but very fun! It’s really nice and I’m happy to have seen so many familiar faces again."
... The ‘welcome back’ from the team:
"There are still a lot of players and staff at the club who I shared a lot of moments and great memories with during my first spell, so seeing them again was a great feeling. I know some of the coaching team too from my time at Stuttgart.
Luckily I didn’t have to sing! I already did that the first time I joined, so this time I just had to run in between two lines of players and everyone hit me on the head. It’s much easier than singing!"
... His return:
"I’d be lying if I said I didn’t consider other clubs, but after consideration it became clear to me relatively quickly that the move back to Leipzig would be a really good step.
In addition to the club, a head coach is very important for a player. I had some very good discussions with Domenico Tedesco – we’re both from Baden-Württemberg so we get on perfectly. (laughs) We were both convinced of each other after.
Obviously I had the World Cup on my mind. I want to prepare for that as best as I can and the perfect way to do that is through playing games. I didn’t manage to do that in my second season at Chelsea.
I wanted to come somewhere that I didn’t need a long time to adapt to and where I’d get the chance to play, somewhere where I know the style of football and a club that also knows how I play.
Another aspect was the city itself. Everyone knows that I felt really at home here. London is a fantastic city and I’ll miss it a lot, but it’s nice to be able to visit the typical German bakeries and buy traditional German things again.
I’m also closer to home. I think I only managed to visit my family once in the past two years.
I’m happy to be back in Germany and to be able to play in the Bundesliga again. It’s a really good league and it’s not far off the Premier League.
I’m looking forward to our fans. I always had a great relationship with them; the people of Leipzig supported me in the hard times. I’m really looking forward to playing in front of them again."
... A possible appearance against Köln on Saturday:
"I’ll always back myself to play football! (laughs) If the coach thinks I’m fit enough, I’ll play. That’s what I’m hoping for. I can’t wait to get started as quickly as possible.
Obviously I missed the recent friendlies with Chelsea and therefore missed out on match practice and maybe I’m not quite at the same level as the rest of the team, but I’ve trained a lot and completed a whole pre-season, so I’m ready!"
"Luckily I didn't have to sing - getting slapped on the head was easier!"
Timo Werner on...
... His time in England:
"My time in England looks worse than it actually was. I was Chelsea’s top scorer in my first season and we won the Champions League. You couldn’t really add much more. The second season was quite unlucky. I think I set a record for the most goals disallowed by VAR. (laughs) Obviously that affected my confidence a little. I also had to deal with coronavirus and injuries and that affected my standing in the team. Unfortunately I didn’t get back to where I was before and with an eye on playing time, it made sense to leave."
... A new team structure:
"A lot of people are expecting me to start scoring goals straight away, and that’s what I want too. But I’m not here to challenge for places or break up any hierarchies. I’m not and will never be that type of person. I’ve always found my place in the squad.
Like I said, there are players here who I’ve already played alongside and been successful with. For example, I had a great year with Christopher Nkunku. I set up a lot of goals for him and he set up almost all of mine. That worked really well back then and I think that it can work brilliantly with other attackers here who I’ll play with for the first time."
... His development:
"My level has definitely increased since 2020 – in the Premier League you always have to work on yourself and constantly improve. The competition is so great and everyone wants to start the games, so everyone trains hard. Now as a 26-year-old, I know the importance of training.
I’ve always lacked a bit of robustness and physicality and England was the perfect place for me to develop that. You have to take on and embrace every duel there, otherwise you’ll lose out. I’ve learnt how to use my body a lot more to win the ball."
... His goals with RB Leipzig:
"I find it hard to come up with goals. I’ve been with the team for a day, so I can’t say something like: ‘we want to win the league.’
What I can say is that we have the best squad that RB Leipzig has ever had. However, other teams in the Bundesliga have good squads too. Despite that, I trust the team a lot and with good confidence and fitness, I believe a lot is possible."