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Timo Werner has informed RB Leipzig that he does not want to play in the club’s Champions League quarterfinal tie, provisionally scheduled for August, so he can push through a move to Chelsea, sources have told ESPN.
The 24-year-old has agreed to join the Blues on a five-year deal worth up to £200,000-a-week. Werner had a release clause which set his valuation dependent upon Leipzig’s finishing position in the Bundesliga but with three matches still to play, the two clubs negotiated a figure believed to be in the region of €53 million.
– Insider Notebook: The situation with Werner’s clause
He is yet to complete a medical due to coronavirus safety measures affecting movement in both Germany and England, but all parties expect a formal announcement to be made soon.
Werner is seeking to accelerate that process by confirming he would prefer to start life with his new club rather than complete Leipzig’s European campaign.
The Bundesliga is due to finish on June 27 but with other European leagues some way behind and travel restrictions still in place in many countries, UEFA are planning to stage the rest of this season’s Champions League in a mini-tournament format spread over 11 days in Lisbon in August.
Remaining a Leipzig player would prevent Werner joining Chelsea until more than eight weeks after domestic football ends in Germany, given the final is planned for Aug. 23. UEFA will finalise the schedule in a vote on Wednesday.
That delay would jeopardise his availability for the start of the 2020-21 Premier League season — projected for early September — and so Werner has requested his transfer be completed this month once the Bundesliga campaign is over.
Leipzig are third in the table, four points behind Borussia Dortmund and five clear of Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern Munich are on the brink of winning the title with a seven-point lead.