Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham Hotspur will not terminate Timo Werner’s loan early.
Werner initially joined Spurs from RB Leipzig on a six-month loan last January and it was extended by a year in the summer.
The 28-year-old has struggled in front of goal, scoring just once in 25 appearances in all competitions this season. The forward was substituted at half-time in last month’s 1-1 draw with Rangers in the Europa League and Postecoglou labelled his performance “unacceptable.”
Reports had linked Werner with a return to Germany in this transfer window and Postecoglou was asked if he expected him to stay with Spurs for the rest of the season before their FA Cup third-round tie against Tamworth on Sunday.
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Why did Postecoglou call Werner’s first-half display ‘not acceptable’?
“Yeah, the last thing I want is to lose another player at the moment,” Postecoglou said. “The other night after Rodrigo (Bentancur) went off, we had 11 first-team players out. We’re not letting anyone go at this point.”
Werner started for Spurs in last weekend’s defeat to Newcastle United in the Premier League and came off the bench in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg victory over Liverpool. Postecoglou said Werner’s “attitude has never been a problem” when he was asked how he had responded to being criticised.
“It was feedback, it was what I obviously felt that day,” Postecoglou said. “I think he’s made an impact, even on the weekend when he came on, he’s got certain attributes that can hurt any team. You saw that on the weekend, he’s got a real turn of pace. We’ve needed that in games at times, particularly late in games.
“His attitude has never been a problem in terms of the way he trains, or the way he’s going about things. I felt that day, particularly with the situation we were in and him being a senior player, I thought he could have contributed more. But since then he’s made an impact as we’ve wanted to. There’s certainly never been any problems with his attitude.”
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‘Welcome to The Lamb’ – Joining part-timers Tamworth as they prepare for the visit of Tottenham
(Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
