From the moment Frank Lampard first spoke to Timo Werner, it was clear to our manager what an exceptional personality our new no.11 has to accompany his footballing ability.
Professionalism and dedication are of paramount importance to Lampard, and he has seen those attributes from Werner from the moment he joined up with his new team-mates.
He made his Chelsea debut at Brighton on Monday and spoke afterwards of the different challenges he faced in that game compared with his time in the Bundesliga, including the ‘massive defenders’ in the Seagulls’ ranks. Lampard was impressed by Werner’s first post-match interview, explaining why it came as no surprise.
‘I loved his statements and it just follows on from the Timo Werner I spoke to when he signed and how he’s been since he’s been working here,’ said the boss.
‘He is an incredibly talented player. He is robust so I have no doubt he can handle the Premier League and the size of the opposition he will come up against, and he is very low maintenance. He comes in, he trains, he works hard, he lives right, and he wants to come here and be a success.
‘As I keep saying about all the players who come from foreign leagues, they have to be given some time to adjust. I’m confident they will adjust quickly. We will work towards that. I will like to see Timo coming up against a fantastic Liverpool defence tomorrow. I have no worries with how he will approach it in terms of the size, speed and strength of Liverpool. I’m sure Timo will back himself and give everything.’
Like with all new prospective signings, Lampard said research had been done into Werner the person as well as Werner the player. What was discovered provided further proof the attacker is going to be a huge hit at Stamford Bridge.
‘I asked some people about him. We had a player who was on loan at Leipzig last year, Ethan Ampadu, which was an obvious connection. There are easy ways to look in to player’s lives in the modern day with social media and all of that.
‘To me the biggest factor is you can always hear things second or third-hand about how somebody is, but it’s not until you speak to them and get that interaction going that you start to have that feel for the person and their hunger and their drive, and how they are and their humility. When I did speak to Timo, I felt that from him instantly.
‘What I’ve seen from him on the training ground is a low-maintenance player, which I love. He just wants to train and work and give everything which is a huge plus for the team. Timo has shown that already, I’m sure it’s not changing, and I’m sure that’ll be a big part of the successful career I truly believe he will have here as a Chelsea player.’
Read: Werner gives a personal view of his pace