The San Jose Earthquakes have signed RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner as a designated player through 2028, the MLS club confirmed on Thursday.
Werner, 29, joins the Quakes having played little this season — just 13 minutes from three appearances — but San Jose manager Bruce Arena feels the former Germany international will give the Quakes’ attack a considerable boost.
Given that club lost both Josef Martínez and Cristian Espinoza to free agency, and with a source confirming a report from The Athletic that forward Cristian Arango is likely headed to Colombian side Atlético Nacional, Werner’s arrival is most welcome.
“It’s always a big decision to go to America, but everything is there to be successful,” Werner said in a statement.
“The stadium and the facilities are beautiful. Also, it really impressed me that an experienced manager like Bruce [Arena], who has had so much success in the league, flew over here to Germany to talk to me about the plan.
“The Earthquakes fans can expect to get a player who gives everything on the pitch, every game. Every club I’ve joined, I’ve wanted to win a trophy. In the end, I’ve always delivered. That’s why I want to come to San Jose — to win.”
That would require an uptick in fortunes for the Quakes. While San Jose won two MLS Cups in 2001 and 2003, it has long been an underachieving team in MLS.
The Quakes have qualified for the MLS postseason just three times in the last 13 years, and has never hosted a playoff game at PayPal Stadium.
The club just missed out on reaching the playoff last season, finishing level on points with ninth-place Real Salt Lake, but losing out on the games won tiebreaker.
Arena is hopeful that Werner can help the team get back to winning ways.
“We feel he’s going to be a great addition to the team as well as the league,” Arena said in an exclusive interview with ESPN.
“I think he’s a player that still has a lot of good years ahead of him. He’s got great experience. He’s a technically good player and we hope he comes here and embraces it and becomes a leader of our team.”
As for his relative lack of playing time with Leipzig, Arena added, “I’m not concerned about it. At least he’s training. He’s a good professional and over a matter of time, he’ll get up to full speed and be fine.”
Arena said the process by which San Jose landed Werner took about two months, with Arena traveling to Germany in December to meet the player and sell him on the San Jose project. Arena’s sales pitch proved successful.
“We’re on the same page,” Arena said in reference to Werner. “He understands what the challenge is here and I think he’s highly motivated to do well here.”
Arena added, “I think our club is learning how to be more competitive and being winners. I think for too long, the club has been dormant and we’re trying to emerge from that. And it does take a little bit of time, but we’ve had a really good effort over the past year to improve the everyday environment here.
“And I think that’s going to pay some positive dividends and certainly having a player like Timo come in, I think sends a message locally here. And hopefully that’ll bring some greater support. And it says that we’re turning the corner and we want to win. And so I think this is a big signing and it makes a real positive statement in our local community.”
Capped 57 times for Germany, Werner’s best run of form came during a four-season spell with Leipzig from 2016-2020 when he scored 95 goals in 159 league and cup appearances.
He then spent two seasons with English Premier League side Chelsea FC, where he scored 23 goals in all competitions from 89 appearances. He began his career with VfB Stuttgart in 2013, having come through their academy.
Werner played for Tottenham Hotspur while on loan for parts of the previous two seasons, where he managed three goals in 41 league and cup appearances.
During his career, Werner spent time up top and out on the wing. Arena said he would use preseason to find out where the German best fits on the field.
“I think with all international players — almost nine out of 10 guys — it takes time to make the transition, whether it’s due to the culture and a lot of things in the league and the clubs and all,” Arena said.
“We need to be patient in the beginning, find out how best he fits in with our team. But obviously he’s going to play in one of our attacking positions, whether it’s as a second nine or a wide attacker. We’ll figure that out.”
