Transfer Centre

Timo Werner 'snubbed Manchester City for Chelsea move'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 04 September 2020

Timo Werner joined Chelsea after rejecting a move to Manchester City following a personal phone call from Pep Guardiola, according to a report.

Timo Werner reportedly turned down the chance to move to Manchester City before penning a deal with Chelsea earlier in the summer.

Following a hugely impressive 2019-20 campaign for RB Leipzig where Werner amassed 34 goals from 45 appearances across all competitions, a host of top European sides were tipped to move for the Germany international.

However, it was Chelsea who eventually won the race for the 24-year-old after the Blues activated his £47.5m release clause back in June.

Manchester United and Liverpool were both strongly linked with a swoop for Werner before Chelsea signed the prolific frontman, but according to Bild, City manager Pep Guardiola personally phoned Werner in a bid to convince him to move to the Etihad.

However, the report claims that the Chelsea man was concerned over a potential lack of game time at City with Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus in the ranks, and Werner rejected the offer as he had his heart set on a move to Stamford Bridge.

Werner's compatriot Kai Havertz has also recently made the switch to the blue side of London from Bayer Leverkusen, while Hakim Ziyech, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell and Malang Sarr have all signed for Frank Lampard's side this summer.