Liverpool target Werner would rather move abroad than join Bayern

RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner would prefer a move abroad over a switch to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.

Werner is contracted to Leipzig until 2023 but has been heavily linked with Bayern and Premier League leaders Liverpool.

The Germany international scored 27 goals and supplied 11 assists in 36 appearances in all competitions for Julian Nagelsmann’s Champions League quarter-finalists before the coronavirus pandemic brought the 2019-20 campaign to a halt.

While Werner has respect for Bayern and their head coach Hansi Flick, the chance to play in a foreign league is something that appeals to him more.

“Bayern are a great club, we don’t need to talk about it, and Hansi Flick has proven this season he is a really good head coach,” Werner told Bild.

“But if a move were to become an issue at some point, I would be more tempted by a move abroad than a move to Bayern.

“It’s just that the challenge of another league would appeal to me a little more than a move within the Bundesliga.

“Of course, it also important that mutual respect is there as much as possible. That’s why I chose RB Leipzig at the time, and why I would choose the club for [the] next step as one where I would get that feeling.”

Werner went into the 2019-20 season in the final year of his contract and was expected to make the move to Bayern at that point.

However, the transfer did not materialise and in August he signed a three-year extension at the Red Bull Arena.

“I can’t answer what motivated Bayern back then,” he said.

“I am happy and satisfied that I extended my contract here and played in Leipzig this season.

“In my eyes I have developed further under Julian Nagelsmann and have matured as a personality and taken on more responsibility.

“I am totally grateful for that. I really appreciate what I have at RB Leipzig and would therefore never say: ‘I have to get out of here!'”

Werner developed his football at Stuttgart‘s academy from six years old and made his senior debut at 17 years in 2013.

He switched to Leipzig when Stuttgart were relegated in 2016, and his since scored 88 goals in 150 appearances.