Timo Werner explains why the Premier League is a tougher test than the Champions League

Timo Werner has said the Premier League represents the ultimate challenge, even compared to the Champions League.

The former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur forward was discussing the differences between English football and the Bundesliga, admitting he warned former teammate Xaver Schlager what to expect when he made the move to the Premier League this summer.

Werner arrived in the Premier League from RB Leipzig in a £47.5m deal in 2020, but struggled to make the desired impact. The Germany international had scored 95 goals in 159 games for Leipzig before signing for Chelsea, but managed just 10 in 59 league appearances for the Blues. He later had an underwhelming loan spell at Tottenham.

The 30-year-old now plays his club football with San Jose Earthquakes in MLS, and has opened up on the challenge in England.

He said the depth of talent in the Premier League makes it a 'different' test to any other competition in world football.

"One of my best friends moved from Leipzig to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League [Schlager], and I always told him," Werner said to The Late Run show.

"You always tell the guy from the Bundesliga - the Premier League is different.

"Also to the Champions League. The Premier League is different. But they say, let him talk. We are playing Champions League, we are second, third in the Bundesliga. That's the same level. We play in Munich, we play in Dortmund, that's tough. That's the same level.

"Now, do you know what he said after five games? You were always right. It is different. In the Bundesliga when you go to Munich, you know what to expect.

"You go in the Premier League to Burnley, or Nottingham Forest, or Sunderland, you don't know what to expect. 17th or 18th position in the table, they still have amazing players. No other league has that. That's why the Premier League is there, and the other leagues a bit below."