Werner says Premier League is tougher test than Champions League
Former Chelsea forward Timo Werner says the Premier League's depth of talent makes it a different challenge from any other competition.
Timo Werner has said the Premier League is the ultimate challenge, even when compared with the Champions League. The former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur forward was discussing the differences between English football and the Bundesliga, and recalled warning a former teammate what to expect when he moved to England.
A warning to a former teammate
Werner said one of his close friends, Xaver Schlager, had moved from RB Leipzig to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this summer, and that he had told him the English league would be different. "You always tell the guy from the Bundesliga: the Premier League is different," Werner said in an interview.
He said he had also made the same point about the Champions League, noting that Bundesliga clubs regularly face top European opponents. Werner pointed to away trips to Munich and Dortmund as demanding games that are at a similar level. According to Werner, Schlager later told him after five games that he had been right.
Unpredictable opponents
Werner said that in the Bundesliga, a visit to a club such as Bayern Munich gives players a clear idea of what to expect. In the Premier League, he argued, the situation is different, even against teams near the bottom of the table.
He named Burnley, Nottingham Forest and Sunderland as examples, saying that even clubs in 17th or 18th place still have players of outstanding quality. "No other league has that," he said, adding that this is why the Premier League stands above the other leagues.
A difficult spell in England
Werner's own time in the Premier League was mixed. He joined Chelsea from Leipzig in 2020 in a deal reported at £47.5m. He had scored 95 goals in 159 games for Leipzig before the move, but managed just 10 in 59 league appearances for the Blues. He later had an underwhelming loan spell at Tottenham.
The 30-year-old now plays for San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer, and has spoken openly about the challenge he faced in England. He has also represented Germany at international level.