Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has fired a warning to his old club over potentially missing out on the transfer of Timo Werner.
The RB Leipzig striker has been superb in his time in the Bundesliga and is now being strongly linked with a move to Chelsea by the Evening Standard.
Liverpool don’t look in obvious need of more attacking options due to their excellent front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, but Carragher believes there would have been room for Werner at Anfield next season.
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There seems little doubt that Chelsea need Werner more due to their shortage of quality up front, with Tammy Abraham, Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud all unconvincing in Frank Lampard’s side this season.
The Blues will no doubt be thrilled if they do win the race for the Germany international’s signature, and Carragher has spoken to Goal about why the outcome of this deal may come back to haunt Liverpool next season.
“Everyone knows that Liverpool’s front three are as good as anything in the world right now, but Werner would have played a lot of games next season,” the pundit said.
“There were suggestions that he was unsure over a move to Liverpool because he might not play every week, but look at what is coming up next season and it highlights why it would have been very difficult for Klopp to convince him to come and assure him that he would play a lot of matches.
“There was due to be an Olympics this summer and Mo Salah was due to play in that, which would have meant he missed the start of next season.
“After that, Salah and Mane are due to play in the African Cup of Nations next February, which means Liverpool will need back-up players to play for long periods. That is before you throw in squad rotation and injuries.
“So there would have been opportunities for Timo Werner to play in the first team in a regular basis. He could have started 10 or 12 games guaranteed and you are talking about 25 or 30 games overall with everything I have mentioned.
“With the Olympics not happening this summer, doubts over whether the African Cup of Nations will go ahead and the financial hit Liverpool have taken due to the pandemic, the decision was made not to sign Werner, but I would like to have seen them push through with the deal. It clearly looked like the player wanted to come to Liverpool.”