Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has affirmed that the decision whether to sign Timo Werner from RB Leipzig permanently will be made "at the appropriate time".
The Germany international returned to the Premier League in January with a few wrongs to right from his first spell in English football, having represented Chelsea from two years from 2020 to 2022.
Werner had a hand in 44 goals in 89 games for the Blues - 23 of his own and 21 assists - but the consensus was that he failed to hit the same heights which brought him so much attention at Leipzig.
From his opening 10 games in a Tottenham jersey, the 28-year-old has notched a respectable two goals and two assists, netting in back-to-back matches with Crystal Palace and Aston Villa last month.
Werner was also given the nod on the left flank for Saturday's 2-1 win over Luton Town, where he created three chances for his teammates but was also guilty of a glaring miss in the first half with the Lilywhites 1-0 down.
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'Werner has made an impact in every game'
An Issa Kabore own goal and Son Heung-min winner eventually spared Werner's blushes, but it remains unclear whether Tottenham will activate the option to make the forward's stay permanent, believed to be around £15m.
Speaking to the press in Monday's media conference, Postecoglou gave little away regarding Werner's future in North London but insisted that the club would make the decision when necessary.
"In terms of his future, yeah I think like most players all these decisions will be made at the appropriate time. He's been great for us," football.london quotes Postecoglou as saying.
"He was an important signing, I said at the time, people forget that when we signed him Sonny wasn't here, he was away at the Asian Cup and then Richy [Richarlison] got injured. So we would have had a massive hole in our line-up without Timo there, and it's fair to say he's made an impact in every game.
"Yeah, he'd probably like a couple more goals but at the same time he's an important part of our structure and I thought he was really good on the weekend. He has been in the last few games but I do think there's more improvement in him as he understands our game more."
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"No real change" in Tottenham's injury situation
Postecoglou addressed reporters ahead of Tuesday's London derby with West Ham United, where the Lilywhites will look to avenge their 2-1 loss to the Europa Conference League champions at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in December.
Spurs had Micky van de Ven back in their ranks against Luton at the weekend following his thigh injury, leaving Manor Solomon (knee), Fraser Forster (foot) and Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) in the treatment room.
The Australian confirmed that no players had come out of the narrow success over Luton any worse for wear, and he should therefore be working with an identical group of players at the London Stadium.
"Yeah pretty much no different to the last game. Everyone got through the game unscathed. So no real change. Everyone is good," Postecoglou added when asked for a team news update.
Tottenham remain three points behind Aston Villa in fifth place in the table, but they still have a game in hand on the Lions, and their current standing may still be good enough for Champions League football next season.
Ben Knapton
