Bundesliga
Nagelsmann bringing the best out of Werner
Timo Werner and Julian Nagelsmann – it is a match made of mutual trust and understanding, and one which is bringing out the best in both, much to RB Leipzig's delight.
With seven goals in all competitions this season, Werner is already a third of the way to matching his best-ever return of 21 from his first season with Leipzig, back in 2016/17. Under Nagelsmann's tutelage, there is no reason why the 23-year-old cannot aim even higher than that, though, and make 2019/20 his and Leipzig's best ever season.
"You just can't get any better than his current scoring rate," Nagelsmann said in the Bild newspaper. "It's not all about goals, though. He's got to vary his game more against deep-lying opponents and this is an area where he's improving, like when he pulls out onto the wing and is deadly from there too."
Watch: how Werner's game is changing under Nagelsmann
These improvements are largely down to the input Werner's new coach has provided since arriving from Hoffenheim in the summer. Nagelsmann has been tweaking Timo's game down to the finest of details, and he says Werner is the kind of player who listens and takes everything on board.
"I'd heard a lot about him, also from his teammates in the national team," Nagelsmann said. "He's an outstanding guy, very clear in his mind and he knows how to assess himself. You can tell him what's good and bad and he doesn't take it personally.
"The first two or three weeks were fantastic. I told him that he was training much better compared to what I'd heard about him."
All the hard hours put in on the training ground appear to be paying off. Thanks to Werner's goals and overall creativity, Leipzig lead the Bundesliga by a handful of points from Bayern Munich and whispers are already starting to circulate that their challenge for the title could go the duration.
"We're happy with how things are going right now, but the objective is to prove consistent over a long period," Nagelsmann said.
"Dortmund had the potential [to win the title] last year, but it wasn't enough in the end. If Bayern constantly hit their potential then it's incredibly hard for anybody [to beat them]."
If Werner constantly hits his potential, though, Leipzig's title challenge will have to be taken seriously.