For those of us of a certain vintage, Timo Werner represents the perfect example of a ‘What If’ player. And it seems he’s more than aware of that face, because he thinks so himself.

The striker is now plying his trade in America with San Jose Earthquakes after bringing his time in Europe to an end back in January.

While he’s only 30, it’s fair to say he’s now in the final years of his career after a few disappointing years at Tottenham, Leipzig and Chelsea before that.

He was once considered one of the most prolific strikers in Europe after scoring 95 goals in 159 games for RB Leipzig. That earned him attention around Europe, particularly in the Premier League.

He eventually joined Chelsea in €53m move in 2020, but a record of 23 goals and 21 assists in 89 games there was seen as a complete failure. His career never really recovered from that disappointing spell at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool interest

Things could have been very different though. Before Chelsea paid big six years ago, it was Liverpool who were heavily linked with the German striker.

Sport Witness can attest to that. Dig into our archives and you’ll find plenty of reports around Liverpool and Werner, dating back years before Chelsea appeared on the scene.

For example, this report, from March 2017, includes comments from Werner. He admitted that a move to Liverpool would be special.

Reports of Liverpool showing an interest, Jurgen Klopp being particularly keen on his compatriot and such followed for the next few years. Indeed, even in 2020 BILD were continuing to say that Werner fancied the move to Anfield.

Obviously, that never happened, but Werner himself admits it was a sliding doors moment. And perhaps the Reds would have been better suited to his game.

“Perhaps the style of play (at Chelsea) wasn’t the best fit for me,” he told The Late Run podcast.

“If I had played for Liverpool or another team, I might have found myself in more situations where we could have capitalized on quick counterattacks.”

No Liverpool regrets

Unlike Werner, Liverpool didn’t end up regretting their failed move of course.

They signed Diogo Jota that summer instead. The Portuguese forward became a highly successful signing before his death last year.

They also signed Salah in 2017; around the same time Werner was first being discussed. That deal certainly proved to be worth it. The Egyptian went on to score 257 goals and register 120 assists in 442 games for the club. He sits third in their all-time goalscorers list.

It means the Reds certainly won’t be looking back with the same kind of regret that Werner clearly is.