Red Bulls pursuit of Timo Werner drags on as team neglects to set MLS deadline

Where things stand between the Red Bulls and Timo Werner remains up in the air, but it appears the club has not set a deadline for the German footballer to decide whether or not he wants to make the jump stateside. 

Despite a report from German sports publication “Sport Bild”, no Aug. 21 deadline has been set for Werner to decide to agree to sign with the MLS side and the club could continue to talk with him about signing with the Red Bulls in the next transfer window, amNewYork reported. 

If that were to be the case, Werner would not be able to come to New York until after the 2025 MLS season. 

The ongoing saga over whether Werner would come to the Red Bulls has dragged on since reports started surfacing earlier this summer linking the RB Leipzig forward to the Red Bulls. 

Leipzig – a sister club of the Red Bulls that plays in the German Bundesliga – has been trying to offload Werner and the one-year, roughly $11.6 million left on his contract, given his struggles with the club and an ugly loan to Tottenham. 

The report by Sport Bild indicated that the Red Bulls had given Werner until Aug. 21 to decide on his future, with the date coinciding with the final day of the summer transfer window. 

Reports have indicated that the Red Bills had made an offer to Werner that was heavily performance-based in order for him to possibly make over $11 million to play for the MLS club. 

amNewYork reported previously that the Red Bulls offer had come in at 2 ½ years for roughly $4.6 million annually. 

Talks have continued on for at least eight months between the two sides and The Athletic had suggested that Werner had the chance to join the Red Bulls last summer. 

While Werner has struggled overseas, he would provide a boost to a Red Bulls squad that has been dealing with injuries and will be coming out of the Leagues Cup break on the wrong side of the playoff cutoff in the MLS. 

The Red Bulls made a shocking run to the MLS Cup Final last season, but have found themselves playing inconsistently this year and only have recorded one regular season game win since the end of May.