Spoke to Timo Werner and convinced him to sign for Chelsea, admits Antonio Rudiger

After nearly a year of speculation, Werner put an end to all the rumours by signing for Chelsea despite being heavily linked with a move to Liverpool. However, after financial problems caused by the coronavirus, the Reds stepped out of the race for the young forward which saw the Blues step in and pay the RB Leipzig forward’s €50m release clause. The German also signed a five year deal with the club reportedly worth €10 million a year in wages with him set to join the club in July.

However, in an interview recently, Antonio Rudiger has admitted that he played a big role in convincing Werner to sign for Chelsea after the German told him he was interested. The two players once played together for Stuttgart’s youth team and their first team and still play together for Germany. The former Roma defender also added that the RB Leipzig forward reminds him a lot of Jamie Vardy with there a lot of similarities between the two.

"I did speak to him before because we have known each other for a long time. We spoke a lot during the lockdown and he told me he was interested in coming to England. Of course then I did my bit, what I had to do. He's a really big threat to defenders,” Rudiger told Chelsea TV.

“RB Leipzig is a more counter-attacking team but in terms of attacking the defensive line, he's similar to Vardy. He has a lot of pace and if the defender makes a mistake and loses the ball, then he goes! I would say he's a quiet, humble guy, always ready to do better. I hope he adapts very quickly when he comes because as we all know this competition is different than others," he added.