Timo Werner has signed a six-month loan deal (Picture: Tottenham)
Dimitar Berbatov admits he was ‘surprised’ by Tottenham’s move to sign Timo Werner but says the German could be a ‘really great’ signing for the club.
The former Chelsea forward joined Spurs on loan earlier this week, with the deal running until the end of the season.
Werner, 27, spent two seasons at Stamford Bridge and scored 29 goals in 83 appearances for the Blues.
However, while Werner’s talent was never in doubt, he was often criticised for his finishing in front of goal.
But with Son Heung-Min at the Asia Cup, Ange Postecoglou moved quickly to secure the German and the club have the option of buying him for £15m at the end of the season.
And Berbatov says Werner has the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong, as long as he can improve his finishing.
Werner is back for a second stint in England (Photo by Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
‘I think it’s a surprise signing, I did not expect it to be honest,’ Betfair Ambassador Berbatov told Metro.co.uk.
”It’s a move that the club was working on way before the transfer window. Now he’s back in England two things can happen; either he’s going to show everybody “I’m back and I’m better than before” or it’s not going to work out.
‘Let’s hope for the good of the team that Timo is going to be a better player than he was at Chelsea and especially better in front of the goal because he was getting into goalscoring opportunities but the last touch in front of goal was what he lacked before. If he improves on that then he’ll be great for the team.’
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Spurs’ style of play under Postecoglou has improved significantly after spells under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.
Only Manchester City, Aston Villa and Liverpool have scored more goals than Spurs in the Premier League this season, and Postecoglou’s side are only three behind leaders City in the scoring charts.
And Berbatov believes Werner’s habit of running in behind could be perfect for the likes of James Maddison.
‘That run in behind the defender is a great weapon to have, trust me,’ said Berbatov.
‘If you are clever enough and you have the speed, because you can have the speed but be stupid and you don’t know what to do. You have to be quick, fast and clever to know where to explore the space behind the defenders and to recognise where the space is.
‘He has other players in the team that can give him the ball so then hopefully he can score and give assists. I think he’s a really great signing for the team and also that he’s not [signed] on the last day of the window. Let’s hope he’s fit and ready to go straight into the team.’
To hear more from Betfair’s Dimitar Berbatov, listen to him on this week’s Football…Only Bettor podcast here: https://betting.betfair.com/podcasts/football-only-bettor/
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It was a ‘surprise’ transfer.