Craig Burley criticises Tottenham’s Timo Werner

Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou handed Timo Werner his first official appearance since joining the club on a permanent transfer from RB Leipzig.

The former Chelsea forward came on in the second half to play close to 12 minutes plus stoppage time against Leicester City as Spurs looked to score a second goal after Jamie Vardy’s equaliser.

In ESPN FC’s post-match reaction, pundit Craig Burley decided to particularly target Werner in what he deemed as a ‘schoolkid’ performance. He said:

“You say about making an impact off the bench, I’ll tell you another one for me, and I look at him as an international footballer of some repute who has been around the block. Is someone going to tell me what the hell Timo Werner does? He came into that game and he looked frightened stiff of the full-back. He never runs in behind, he never gets the cross in. I don’t give two stuffs what he did in Germany, he’s not at Leipzig. I’ve seen it before from him, whenever a ball is played up to him, if a defender is close to him he’s like a frightened schoolkid, he taps it off to the side, five yards, it’s a lack of responsibility.”

Werner has not enjoyed the best of years in the recent past but he was not as bad as Burley has highlighted on his appearance in ESPN’s podcast. Much to the contrary, the forward was one of the better players off the bench as he contributed well to the team’s cause of trying to earn a winner.

Werner had 22 touches, including two in the opponent’s box. He even attempted 15 passes of which he completed 11. Admittedly, he was not the most impactful player but he was not bad enough for Burley to particularly target him.

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As the season progresses, Werner is bound to play a role off the bench and it remains to be seen if he proves to be an asset for Tottenham Hotspur. He can play in a number of roles across the final third and his versatility is likely to make him one of Postecoglou’s first options as a substitute, in spite of the external criticism the player has faced in recent years.