Chelsea striker Timo Werner has never been a “natural goalscorer”, according to former Premier League striker Darren Bent.
The Germany international had a brilliant scoring rate for Leipzig in the Bundesliga before making the move to Stamford Bridge, scoring 78 goals in 127 league matches.
However, he is yet to find his feet in England with only five Premier League goals since joining Chelsea in the summer transfer window.
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And Bent says he’s never thought of Werner as a “natural goalscorer” and he’s now proving that with some of his misses this season.
“Take him out of the firing line?” Bent told talkSPORT. “That probably would be the smart thing to do as a centre forward.
“But I question his mentality and I’ve said it before; I said when he got here, he is not a natural goalscorer.
“People said, ‘Well look at his record’, but that still doesn’t mean you are a natural goalscorer and I think that you’re seeing that now with the amount of chances that he misses.
“But I think you just have to persist with it. With that pace, that pace is such a weapon, that he has just got to stick with it.
“Eventually, hopefully, one will go in. But that was the perfect opportunity, the one he set up for Mason Mount, you don’t have to think about it.
“It rolls across the box, you tap it into the empty net, but I think the Germany miss was playing on his mind, which was why he did not shoot.”
Ahead of their heavy defeat to West Brom at the weekend, in which Werner set up Mount for Chelsea’s second goal, Thomas Tuchel was determined to coax the pacy forward back into form.
Chelsea boss Tuchel said pre-match: “This guy has scored goals since he was five years old, and he never stopped, so he can trust that his brain and his body remembers to do that because it is absolutely usual for him to score.
“So it will come back; it is just a matter of time. But it is much easier said than done because for me this is the moment not to think about it and not to read about it, and not even to train extra.
“Yesterday I sent him in from training because he wanted to do some finishing with us. I just sent him in. I said ‘you don’t need that, your body, your brain knows how to score; you did it since you were five years old so don’t worry, it will come’.
“If a woman does not want to go out with you to dinner, you cannot force her to, you just step a little bit back and maybe she will call you up. So the goals will come.
“But of course he needs to do something for it, and the best thing to do is not to think about and work hard. Work hard against the ball, work hard, be reliable with the ball, do your runs, don’t hesitate and be fearless.
“Don’t overthink it. It is very easy for me to say because we aren’t out there and everybody is pointing fingers at him, but this is the challenge right now. This is how I see it. He will start tomorrow and here we go.”
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