The saga of the strikers who failed to live up to their potential at Chelsea is a well-known story. Stamford Bridge is the witness to a host of forwards who were doing well but performed miserably once they donned the Chelsea jersey. This has led the fans and pundits alike to brand this phenomenon as Chelsea’s “curse of the number 9”. After Diddier Drogba, only Diego Costa has performed well as the number nine. However, he was shipped off as soon as he had a slight dip in his form. Being a fan favorite player is not a respite from getting the axe from Chelsea. Diego Costa and Timo Werner are the best examples of this.
Timo Werner performed brilliantly in the Bundesliga. Before joining Chelsea, Werner had 28 league goals in the previous season. Before that, he had 29 goals for Leipzig. His blistering pace and ability to run into pockets of space, all indicated that he would be a huge success in the Premier League. However, that didn’t happen as Werner underperformed massively with only 10 league goals in his two seasons at Chelsea
Liverpool and Chelsea are in a similar situation
Darwin Nunez’s arrival from Benfica meant that Liverpool had depth and the necessary firepower to compete brilliantly in all their games. However, Nunez is struggling since his arrival. His plight is the same as that of Werner’s initial time with Chelsea. Critics of Liverpool and Nunez have used this as a comparison to dismiss Nunez as another underwhelming striker in the Premier League. His red card in the match against Crystal Palace has made some pundits suggest that he lacks the temperament to play in the Premier League where defenders play dirty and back it up with their physicality. However, it is too early to compare the two players and brand Nunez as a failure in the League. Werner had two seasons of backing by Chelsea whereas Nunez has hardly played 7 matches for Liverpool. Only time will tell if he is the Uruguayan Timo Werner or the second Luis Suarez of Liverpool.
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