In recent times, we've had plenty to keep us entertained - the never ending Paul Pogba to Real Madrid story, the future of all-conquering wonder boy Erling Haaland, now of Borussia Dortmund, and Bruno Fernandes' definite, maybe, potential, possible, could do, could not, CONFIRMED move to Manchester United to name just three.
Pogba's supposed move still is still rumbling on to this day, but his name has been joined at the top of gossip columns over the past few months by RB Leipzig superstar Timo Werner.
Yes, the German forward - and indeed Leipzig as a whole - is the new talk of the town, rising to international prominence after a goal-laden season in the Bundesliga.
The 24-year-old has been the spearhead of Die Roten Bullen's title charge this season, with his continued form seeing him linked with a move to a number of Europe's biggest clubs - Barcelona included. But it's England that seems his likely destination, amid strong and continued interest from heavyweight trio Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United.
The real question, though, is how does Werner compare to the current crop of forwards gracing the Anfield, Etihad Stadium and Old Trafford turf?
There's only one way to find out, as 90min compares his 2019/20 campaign to those of Roberto Firmino, Sergio Aguero and Anthony Martial...
(*stats compiled via WhoScored and Transfermarkt).
Appearances/Minutes Played/Injuries
| Player Name/Metric | League/European Appearances | Total | Mins Played | Number of Injuries or Illnesses/Games Missed |
| Werner | 25/8 | 33 | 2,662 | 1 (0 games missed) |
| Firmino | 29/7 | 36 | 2,938 | 0 |
| Aguero | 23/4 | 27 | 1,598 | 1 (7 games missed) |
| Martial | 22/3 | 25 | 2,151 | 2 (10 games missed) |
Any team looking to make a big money investment is likely to look into a player's fitness record, and Werner's makes for pretty good reading this season.
He's only had one period of absence, through influenza, but crucially didn't miss a competitive game. Liverpool's Firmino, meanwhile, has maintained his fitness throughout the season, but Aguero and Martial - like seasons gone by - have shown vulnerability to injury, and have both missed a significant chunk of the campaign.
Firmino has the most minutes under his belt, but Werner isn't far behind from three less appearances.
Goals/Conversation Rate/Shots Per Game
| Player Name/Metric | League/European Goals | Home/Away Goals Scored | Mins Per Goal | Total |
| Werner | 21 Bundesliga 4 Champs Lge |
10 home, 11 away 0 home, 4 away |
82 mins 145 mins |
25 |
| Firmino | 8 Premier League 0 Champs Lge |
0 home, 8 away 0 home, 0 away |
303 mins N/A |
8 |
| Aguero | 16 Premier League 2 Champs Lge |
8 home, 8 away 2 home, 0 away |
87 mins 98 mins |
18 |
| Martial | 11 Premier League 3 Europa League |
6 home, 5 away 1 home, 2 away |
171 mins 92 mins |
14 |
Scoring goals, no matter which league you're playing in, is the bread and butter for any striker, regardless of his team's playing style and what his perceived role may be.
This season, Werner's goal return is pretty spectacular compared to his Premier League peers - with 21 domestic strikes blended with 4 Champions League goals.
Timo Werner turns 24 today
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 6, 2020
- 34 games
- 27 goals
- 11 assists
Put him in front of goal and he is absolutely lethal! pic.twitter.com/SfweprznDI
He's also netting them at a fair lick - just 82 minutes between his Bundesliga goals this season - and he's shown that he's capable of performing away from home, notching 15 times on the road this season (in all competitions).
Only Aguero comes close to Werner in terms of numbers, with the Argentine's record again impressive for City, despite his injury woes and irritating rotation with Gabriel Jesus.
Liverpool have been the team most strongly linked with Werner, so it's interesting to note that he has scored 17 more goals than Firmino - averaging over three goals in the time it has taken the Brazilian to score one.
Dribble Attempts/Assists/Offsides
| Player Name/Metric | Dribbles Per 90min (League/European) | Dribble Success (%) | Assists | Number of Offsides (Total) |
| Werner | 3.2 Bundesliga attempts 3.9 Champs Lge attempts |
64 34 |
7 2 |
35 12 |
| Firmino | 2.9 Premier League attempts 1.8 Champs Lge attempts |
62 66 |
7 3 |
5 3 |
| Aguero | 1.8 Premier League attempts 2.7 Champs Lge attempts |
61 48 |
3 0 |
6 0 |
| Martial | 3.2 Premier League attempts 3.9 Europa League attempts |
53 51 |
3 0 |
10 3 |
Bagging goals isn't enough in the modern game, though.
Rewind 20 years and you'd expect your striker to be on the shoulder of the defender, looking to break in behind. That, or they'd be flicking on headers for teammates to latch onto. But times have changed.
So that's why it's important to recognise Werner's contributions to other phases of play - he's not just a goalscorer - namely the amount of dribbles he attempts and completes per game, as well as the number of assists he lays on for his teammates.
A total of nine setups for the season - just one behind Firmino, who is often attributed for bringing out the best in Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah - suggests that he'd fit in well at Anfield, dropping deep to link up play and play in his prospective teammates.
Werner's also keen to break in behind the defence - Bundesliga defences do push up extraordinarily high mind you - which is perhaps demonstrated best by the number of times he's been caught offside.
Whichever way you look at it, the Bundesliga is a very good standard of football - and Werner's performance suggests that he'd be more than capable of challenging the so-called Premier League elite.
It's now a question of who's willing to put their money where their mouth is in order to poach one of the most complete forwards in the game today.
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Source : 90min