Thomas Tuchel reveals plan to reinvigorate struggling Timo Werner

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has said he plans to get the best out of struggling striker Timo Werner by building the German international’s confidence back up and finding a way of setting up the team that plays to his strengths and creates opportunities for him.

Chelsea made Werner the most expensive German player in history when they triggered a £47.5m release clause to buy him from RB Leipzig in June, a record they broke again within a few weeks to land fellow countryman Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen.

Although he started a little slowly, Werner found his scoring boots in October and had a run of seven goals in seven Premier League and Champions League games. But as Chelsea started to struggle and pressure began building on Frank Lampard, his only goal since was against lower league Morecambe.

Chelsea are so determined that Werner and Havertz will be success at Stamford Bridge, a German-speaker was thought to be one of their preferred criteria for Lampard’s successor.

Tuchel is exactly that and is already setting his sights on bringing Werner back into form.

"It is important to rebuild his trust in himself, and to re-find a smile on his face and to stop doubting himself too much. It is my job to help him with this, and to help find the position where we can use his strengths,” Tuchel said, quoted by Sky Sports.

The new Chelsea boss explained that Werner cares a little too much, meaning that he seems less able to put mistakes, missed opportunities or bad performances behind him, leading to increased pressure on himself and reduced confidence.

"The guy is young, the guy is open, the guy is friendly and the guy is eager to learn. At the moment I can see that his face is a bit closed, I can see that the weight is on his shoulders. He cares a lot, and it shows that he has fantastic character,” Tuchel explained.

"Sometimes as a striker it does not help if you care a lot, it is better as a striker to not care at all, but he is not that guy. He is not happy with himself and the way things have gone lately.”

Werner was left on the bench for Tuchel’s first game in charge in midweek, a 0-0 draw against Wolves in which Chelsea’s primary focus was on keeping it tight and controlling possession.

There will be more onus on them to attack in Sunday’s clash with Burnley at Stamford Bridge and all eyes will be on the lineup to see if Werner makes the cut.

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