Fjortoft calls for rethink after reports Liverpool ended Werner interest

Timo Werner TEAMtalk

Norwegian pundit Jan Aage Fjortoft has said that Liverpool will eventually sign Timo Werner if their interest remains strong enough.

The Reds have been linked with the RB Leipzig striker for months, with Jurgen Klopp tipped to add to his array of attacking options.

Werner has a £50million release clause in his contract, which runs out in 2023, and that clause will decrease to around £35million next summer.

Despite Liverpool’s strong interest – including claims that Klopp has spoken to the attacker – reports have indicated that the Merseyside club are unwilling to pay £50million in the current financial climate.

What’s more, Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff insisted that there would be no option of a cheaper deal besides the drop in his fee as his contract nears its expiry.

However, speaking to Sky Sports’ The Football Show, Fjortoft insisted that Liverpool have no need to panic and will sign Werner if they really want him.

“He is good enough for Liverpool, and as with any team, when the best talent in Europe is available, they have to go for him,” the journalist and pundit said.

“If you see Timo Werner this year, with Julien Nagelsmann, this big prospect of managers, he has turned him into a more complete player.

“He is now going deeper, a more complete player, and Nagelsmann should be proud of that. Timo Werner said if he will leave RB Leipzig, it will be abroad. Do I think he will go to Liverpool?

“It is hard to say in these times, as RB Leipzig’s CEO said there is no chance you will get a cut price for Timo Werner, but let’s be honest, if Liverpool want a player, they will get that player!”

Werner, who had scored 27 goals for Leipzig before the Bundesliga’s extended break, has hit the ground running since the resumption of the German top flight and he now has 30 strikes this season.

Click here for our 13/8 tip for Monday’s Koln v RB Leipzig game.

Liverpool, meanwhile, have been fairly quiet in recent transfer windows, with Takumi Minamino’s arrival the most high profile since the transfer window in summer 2018.

In other news, the Reds are reportedly in the running to sign Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar, who is likely to leave his Ligue 1 employers this summer.

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