Dharmesh Sheth, Pete Graves and Raphael Honigstein discuss the impact Romelu Lukaku could have on his Chelsea team-mates, what Lionel Messi’s move to PSG means for the future of big-money signings, plus the strategy behind Erling Haaland’s next move on the Transfer Talk podcast After yet another frantic week of transfer comings and goings,
during which Chelsea re-signed Lukaku on a club-record deal, and Lionel Messi completed his sensational switch to Paris Saint-Germain, the Transfer Talk podcast panel – Dharmesh Sheth, Pete Graves and special guest Raphael Honigstein – get stuck right into the hottest topics surrounding the transfer world.
Much has been made of Lukaku’s club-record arrival at Chelsea and what it means for much-maligned team-mate Werner after his struggles in front of goal last seasonIs Lukaku now the main man? Will Werner have to play second fiddle? And, crucially, would Werner be willing to play a bit-part role behind Lukaku as Chelsea’s preferred No 9
For Honigstein, however, the arrival of Lukaku from Inter Milan could unlock the potential of Werner’s stellar final season at RB Leipzig, which “Timo Werner’s best campaign for RB Leipzig came the year before he left for Chelsea, where he smashed all sorts of records and scored close to 30 goals, and it was because he played off a No 9,” Honigstein said.
“He was the second striker, in off the inside left, playing off somebody who held the line and pushed players back while he attacked the space. “Thomas Tuchel tried that in his first few games, with Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham leading the line, and had some success, but, ultimately, he didn’t like Giroud or Abraham enough to make that a permanent fixture. But to have Lukaku linking up with Werner potentially, given everything we’ve seen with Werner in the past, this is actually his dream ticket.
ultimately earned him his move to Stamford Bridge. “It’s not a case of him being demoralised at no longer being the main striker, I think Werner will be very happy that a real No 9 has come in because it makes his game much easier.
He doesn’t want to lead the line, he’s not great with his back to goal, it’s not his game.
