"Timo Werner at the right club to score goals" - RB Leipzig teammate Emil Forsberg
Emil Forsberg has sent out an ominous warning to RB Leipzig's Bundesliga rivals, telling bundesliga.com that Timo Werner is in the right place to keep finding the back of the net.
Forsberg and Werner have played together since Germany's No.9 arrived in the summer of 2016, and Forsberg has seen the incredible rise of the former VfB Stuttgart forward from promising prospect to glittering international star.
Speaking after Sweden's 1-1 draw with Spain in Stockholm, an upbeat Forsberg spoke about how Leipzig will only continue to get better under coach Julian Nagelsmann, and how fun it is to play with the likes of Werner and Yussuf Poulsen.
bundesliga.com: It's been a good start to the season for Leipzig. How do you explain that?
Emil Forsberg: "We started really well, played really well, but we're still under development. We have a new coach, a new system, some new ideas, so I think we're still developing. We have a young team. I think we're just going to get better and better."
bundesliga.com: You've got a new system, a new coach…Usually it takes quite a long time for these things to gel, but the squad seems to have adapted to Julian Nagelsmann's philosophy very quickly.
Forsberg: "He's been making some small adjustments now, small adjustments every week. We just keep improving, keep doing our thing. We have good players who understand football, who like football. That means that the step is not that big. We keep learning every day. He likes to play football, we like to play football, so that makes things easy."
bundesliga.com: What things has he been changing specifically? Is it in terms of strategy, mentality…
Forsberg: Yes, but also in terms of possession, how we think when we have the ball, how to help each other in different situations. That's the main thing.
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bundesliga.com: You had a fabulous first season in the Bundesliga, and then it was more difficult after that with form and injury. Do you feel that now you're coming back into your best form?
Forsberg: "Yeah, I had two years where I was injured. Of course that was hard, but I'm getting better and better now. I've been fit for almost a year, so I just need to keep improving, keep enjoying my football, and I know everything else will come."
bundesliga.com: You've got Yussuf Poulsen and Timo Werner playing up front with you. You look like you're a really complimentary attacking trio…
Forsberg: "Yeah, we know each other very well. We've been playing with each other for almost four years now, so we know our strengths and also our weaknesses. I think we're doing well. They're a good couple of guys, we're enjoying playing football with each other. We are just going to keep improving."
bundesliga.com: When you have a striker with the pace and the finishing ability of Timo, that must help…
Forsberg: "He's a good striker, and I think he fits well in our team. He gets the passes he needs to score, so I think we're helping him as much as possible to score goals. And I think he's at the right club to score goals."
bundesliga.com: You've got a difficult game coming up at the weekend against a Wolfsburg side that has had a fabulous start to the season…
Forsberg: "There are no bad teams in the Bundesliga. It's fun to see every team playing good football, that's what we want. It's going to be a fantastic game, a very difficult game, but we have a chance to win. We're going for a win, and I hope we'll get it."
bundesliga.com: Where do you see Leipzig at the end of the season? Can we talk about Leipzig as potential title contenders?
Forsberg: "It's hard to say, it's still early in the season. We want to be up there competing, but we just have to keep working, stay humble and work hard. If you look at recent seasons, we have always been up there. We want to be in the top four, but to say we'll be competing for the title it's too early for me to say now. We just want to keep staying humble, working hard, and then we'll see."
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