Timo Werner is reportedly available from RB Leipzig for a bargain basement fee this summer, as the Germany international returns from a loan spell at Tottenham this past season.
It was not a particuarly successful campaign with Spurs for Werner, who played in just 27 matches across the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, and Europa League for the London club, starting just 10, and completing just 90 minutes just once: during the FA Cup third round tie against National League side Tamworth.
The German forward bagged just a single goal in a League Cup win over Manchester City in late October and added three assists to his tally during the disappointing term. It was an extended loan, after Werner initially joined in January of 2024, with the second half of last season working out better (14 appearances, 11 starts, 2 goals, 3 assists) than this year.
And now there's a rumor that Leipzig, who bought him back from Chelsea after Werner failed to build on his massive 2019/20 campaign, which saw him rack up 52 goal contributions (40 goals, 12 assists) for club and country, want to sell him for an even smaller fee.
The report is roughly €4 million, a stark contrast to the €64 million Chelsea paid Leipzig in the summer of 2020 and even the €35 million the London Blues got in the return sale.
It isn't that Werner has shown an inability to hang in the Premier League and score goals (he bagged 12 and 11 in his two seasons at Chelsea, although on npxGs of 15.7 and 9.0, respectively), but something hasn't quite clicked for the player like it generally has in the Bundesliga (although his last season at Leipzig was not off to a great start before they loaned him out either).
Even at the cut rate, it's hard to figure out how Werner would fit into David Moyes' side. He isn't a pure striker at this level (he only lined up as the no.9 for Tottenham last season against lower league sides), but his speed could be useful on the wings for Everton, with players like Jesper Lindstrom and Jack Harrison heading back to their parent clubs after season-long loans.
If the goals can come from there, it would be excellent from an Everton perspective, but his age (he just turned 29 in March), might worry the club regarding a longer-term deal.
It would be hard to sniff at goals for Everton, but it's also been a while (2022/23) since he's been anywhere near the prolific scorer he was in his prime. But maybe that's a volume issue (he took only 19 shots this season; in 2019/20 it was 155), more than a finishing one.
It might be worth kicking the tires for Everton, but it cannot be the only move they make to strengthen the goal scoring.