Why Man Utd were interested in Werner - his numbers v Rashford & Martial
If everything goes to plan, Timo Werner will join Chelsea at the start of the 2020/21 season.
With terms agreed between the Premier League side and RB Leipzig, all that is left is the player negotiating personal terms and the deal will be done. That deal, when it happens, will be a magnificent one for the Blues.
Werner, at 24, is heading into the prime years of his career, and is in the middle of a fabulous season with Leipzig, having scored 25 goals in 28 appearances so far, with only the goalscoring talents of Robert Lewandowski eclipsing in Germany.
It looked like Werner would be Liverpool-bound to play under compatriot Jurgen Klopp, but the Reds have been usurped to his services by their league rivals, who have already secured another exciting signing in Hakim Ziyech from Ajax.
Manchester United were also very much in the mix, having spoken to the player back in February, and it's obvious why.
Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial's patchy form means United's goal per game rate is down on 17/18 and 18/19 when Romelu Lukaku was there, and not only do their individual numbers pale in comparison to Werner, but their combined efforts barely make it past the standards of the German.
WERNER v RASHFORD AND MARTIAL
League performance - 19/20
| Stat | Werner | Rashford | Martial | Rashford +Martial |
| G+A | 32 | 18 | 14 | 32 |
| NON-PEN GOALS P90 | 0.83 | 0.43 | 0.53 | 0.96 |
| ASS P90 | 0.26 | 0.19 | 0.14 | 0.33 |
| NON-PEN CONT P90 | 1.09 | 0.62 | 0.67 | 1.29 |
| SHOTS P90 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 2.9 | n/a |
| BIG CHANCES CREATE | 12 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| NON-PEN xG P90 | 0.71 | 0.47 | 0.33 | 0.80 |
| xA P90 | 0.32 | 0.15 | 0.19 | 0.34 |
| Premier League mins only |
The numbers for Rashford and Martial are just not elite when penalties are removed from the equation - indeed Rashford just makes it inside the Top 60 players in Europe’s Top Five Leagues for Non-Pen Contributions P90.
When focusing specifically on the Premier League, only Manchester City's Sergio Aguero surpasses Werner's Non-Pen Contributions P90.