- Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner have known each other for over 7 years.
- The Chelsea newcomer asked the centre-back about everything related to the club.
- The defender's answers helped the 24-year-old to make the decision.
Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner came through together at Stuttgart, have been playing alongside each other for Germany and have clearly established a strong friendship throughout the years. The Blues' newcomer has shared some details of the conversations they had ahead of hist Stamford Bridge move.
"Of course, I spoke to him. I’ve known him for a long time, seven years now," the 24-year-old said in an interview for RB Leipzig's YouTube channel. "He is a leading player there and knows all there and knows all there is to know. I think he played there for two or three years already.
"So there wasn’t really a better person I could talk to than him. I asked him what it’s like, what the environment is like, what the coach is like. He was positive about it all. It would have been strange for him to say different, though!
"He was full of praise. He said that the city was incredible and that you can only be happy there. So it was useful to be able to talk to him, and he really helped me in making my decision."
Chelsea completed the transfer of Werner from Leipzig for a reported fee of £47.5m. The forward has signed a five-year deal with the club with a base salary of around £270,000 per week.
Werner left Leipzig on a high note, grabbing a brace in a 2-1 win over Augsburg and, therefore, becoming the club's all-time leading goalscorer in his final game before the Chelsea move.
All in all, Werner scored 95 goals and provided 40 assists in his 159 appearances for Leipzig.
There's hardly any doubt that Timo is going to play a huge role at Stamford Bridge.