Chelsea new recruit Timo Werner has confirmed he held talks with Liverpool but was more attracted to the project at Stamford Bridge, where he will take on the Reds on Sunday.
The German striker appeared destined to move to Anfield from RB Leipzig at one point earlier this year, but the Premier League champions baulked at his price tag and that allowed Chelsea to swoop in and seal a £47.5million deal.
Werner will take on Liverpool this weekend and insists he has no regrets about not joining Jurgen Klopp’s side, despite feeling he would have suited the team.
Asked about his decision not to join Liverpool, and whether he had any extra motivation to score on Sunday, Werner said: ‘I think, yeah, when I decided to leave Leipzig I talked to different clubs, of course.
‘Next to Chelsea there were some other clubs that I talked to but, for me, I don’t want to talk so much about other clubs because at the end I decided for Chelsea.
‘Of course, there were some other clubs, like Liverpool, they have a great team and also maybe I can fit good to some other teams.
‘But at the end I decided on Chelsea because for me it was the best decision I could take. Not only for the style of football, also because of what they showed to me.
‘Yes I think it was a hard decision at the end, but I am very, very excited and proud and happy that I decided like this because now when I’m here for at least maybe two months, it feels right, it feels very good.
‘The team is brilliant, we have some good but always calm and nice players and it makes it fun to play here in Chelsea, to be part of the team, to be part of the area. We can start well here and do very well with this team in the next few months and in the next few years.’
On facing Liverpool at the weekend, Werner added: ‘I’m looking forward to the game because you have a lot of good teams, but with Liverpool you have one of the best teams in the world.
‘They won the league last year and they have the same team as last year, so they will be as strong as last year. So it will be a really good challenge for us to test how far we are.’
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