Chelsea flop Timo Werner hints Tottenham fans should lower goalscoring expectations as he highlights key role under Ange Postecoglou

The German forward returned to England after a gap of one and a half years as he completed a loan move from RB Leipzig to Tottenham this month. In his debut game, Werner provided an assist as Spurs came back from a goal down twice to hold Manchester United to a 2-2 draw on Sunday.

While the striker did have a goal contribution in his maiden appearance, he failed to find the back of the net despite getting four opportunities. After the match, the Germany international sent a message to the club fans and urged them not to expect too many goals from him in the next six months.

Speaking to Evening Standard, the player said: "There was always criticism of my game [at Chelsea]. In the beginning, I also started like I did [at Old Trafford], from the left side. I think a lot of people wanted to see me scoring more goals, but at Spurs, with the tactics we have and the way the manager wants me to play, I can bring a lot to the group with my assists and maybe [by] not being the main man who scores — to make deep runs to create space for the others and, like yesterday, to create an assist."

Speaking further on his failed stint at Chelsea, Werner added: "Maybe sometimes it’s not about the fans or the manager. Sometimes it’s about you. You look at your stats and think: ‘I wanted to score more goals’. I think now I’m a bit older, I see how important assists and deep runs are for the team. I also want to score goals, but it’s not the main part of my game anymore. I can bring so much more, especially in this kind of tactic, for the group."

Ange Postecoglou's side now enjoy a well-deserved winter break before they get back to action in the FA Cup fourth round as they take on reigning English champions Manchester City on January 26.