Timo Werner is keen to leave Chelsea this summer (Getty)
Chelsea forward Timo Werner has agreed to take a 50 per cent pay cut in order to return to RB Leipzig, according to reports in Germany.
The 26-year-old has struggled to make an impact at Chelsea since moving to Stamford Bridge in a £47.5 million deal from RB Leipzig in 2020.
Werner, who has scored 23 goals in 89 appearances for Chelsea, started just 15 games in the Premier League last season and is keen to get more playing time ahead of Germany’s World Cup campaign in Qatar later this year.
According to Bild, RB Leipzig are now working on an agreement with Chelsea and are exploring the possibility of signing Werner on an initial loan deal with an option to buy.
The report claims that Werner is ready to return to Leipzig and would accept a 50 per cent pay cut in order to help push the move through.
Werner’s current deal is worth around £275,000 a week, while the forward has also attracted interest from Juventus.
Timo Werner has struggled to make an impact since joining Chelsea for £47.5m in 2020 (Getty)
‘I hope he is coming back, he is a good player,’ Werner’s former RB Leipzig teammate Yussuf Poulsen said this week.
‘We are a team that is trying to take the next step and develop into one of the biggest clubs in Europe, you need quality players for that. We formed a good partnership in the past.’
When asked about the prospect of Werner leaving Chelsea before the end of the window, Thomas Tuchel insisted last week that the 26-year-old ‘has a point to prove’ at Stamford Bridge.
‘I don’t know about it, Timo has not talked to me about it,’ said Tuchel.
‘In the moment I think he wants to make his way at Chelsea. He has still to prove a point.’
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Earlier this month, Werner suggested that his aim is to secure more playing time ahead of the World Cup.
‘I could be happy everywhere,’ Werner said.
‘It is clear I want to play more and I should play more to first be in good shape for the World Cup and also to have a chance to play at the World Cup.
‘It doesn’t change anything whether it is a winter World Cup or in the summer. I think if I play half of the season or the whole season, I should play. It doesn’t change anything in my mind.’
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