How Tottenham could line up with Timo Werner
Tottenham Hotspur are signing Timo Werner on an initial loan deal until the end of the season. What a sentence.
Go back two-and-a-half years to when Chelsea won the Champions League. Their starting front three now all play for rival clubs, with Kai Havertz at Arsenal and Mason Mount at Manchester United.
What's even stranger about Spurs' move for Werner is that, six months removed from the soul-crushing sale of Harry Kane, the mood has hardly ever been better in N17.
Ange Postecoglou has been on the lookout for another versatile forward and in Werner he has a player capable of filling various holes despite his deficiencies.
Where will Werner play for Tottenham? Here are the different ways he could be deployed.
Werner's most likely route into the starting XI comes on the left wing, particularly with Son Heung-min currently away at the Asian Cup with South Korea.
Though initially signed by Chelsea as a striker, this is the position he most often played in the Premier League. It made enough sense — he's one of the quickest forwards around, doesn't really understand the offside rule and was far from clinical in front of goal.
In Postecoglou's system, Werner has the ideal physical traits to play on the wing in that he's fast, aggressive and busy. The Greek-Australian has traditionally played with two touchline wingers, but he has slightly adapted his tactics to accommodate at least one inverted forward. If Werner is moving inside from the left, Brennan Johnson could stretch play on the right (at least until Son or James Maddison are back and then the frontline undergoes a bit more cosmetic surgery).
Chances to score will certainly come Werner's way, it'll be more about if he's learned to adjust his feet in front of goal.
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