Ex-Chelsea flop Timo Werner claims he was 'forgotten' by Thomas Tuchel & admits Romelu Lukaku was his 'biggest problem'

• Werner takes a dig at former boss Tuchel
• Stopped enjoying himself at Chelsea
• Identified Lukaku as his 'biggest problem'

WHAT HAPPENED? Werner joined Chelsea from RB Leipzig to much fanfare in the summer of 2020, and helped the Blues win their second Champions League title in his debut season. Werner was a fixture in Tuchel's starting XI until Romelu Lukaku was brought back to Stamford Bridge in a club record deal, and after playing second fiddle to the Belgian throughout the 2021-22 season, he decided to re-join Leipzig last summer. The 26-year-old does not think he was treated fairly by Tuchel, who was sacked by Chelsea in September, and admits that he stopped enjoying his football towards the end of his time in the Premier League.

WHAT THEY SAID: “I had a very good first six months at Chelsea, which was what the supporters and club expected of me. I scored the goals and played good games," Werner said in an interview with The Sun. "When you come from the kind of success I had in Germany or with Chelsea — playing nearly every game in the first season, winning the Champions League in 2021, scoring in the semi-final against Real Madrid, making a lot of goals.

"Then all this gets a little bit forgotten by the manager, it was not really fair. That was also a reason I had to move back to Leipzig, to get the enjoyment again. I didn’t feel that any more but you need it to be successful. Maybe yes, in the end I just wanted out."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Werner went on to address his competition with Lukaku, who returned to Inter on loan for the 2022-23 campaign after a poor homecoming year at Chelsea. The Germany international was unhappy with how Tuchel sidelined him instantly to accommodate Lukaku, as he added: "The biggest problem was he [Tuchel] put a striker like Lukaku in front of me in the second season after I won the Champions League by nearly playing every game in the first squad. That was the toughest moment for me to get a player, a very good player, in front of me for 120 million euros. Romelu was a big striker and had to play after costing so much and I didn’t feel honoured enough. Maybe that was also a reason why I had ups and downs."

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WHAT NEXT FOR WERNER & CHELSEA? The forward will be back in action with RB Leipzig against Manchester City on Wednesday in the first leg of their round of 16 Champions League tie, while Chelsea will face Tottenham in a London derby clash on Sunday in the Premier League.