Chelsea are reportedly prepared to offer Timo Werner as part of an exchange deal to secure the signing of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
According to a report from Football Insider, Chelsea are currently one of the front-runners to sign Borussia Dortmund superstar Erling Haaland and are considering the prospect of offering last summer’s marquee signing, Timo Werner, as part of the deal to bring the Norwegian to Stamford Bridge.
Haaland is the most wanted commodity heading into the summer transfer window, with top clubs from across Europe vying for his signature. Indeed, the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona are said to be keen on the 20-year-old while in England, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United have all held talks with his agent Mino Raiola and father Alf-Inge Haaland.
As per the report, though, Liverpool have pretty much dropped out of the race as they are reluctant to pay Haaland’s asking price, which could be around or in excess of £100 million. And given the Spanish clubs’ financial difficulties, the report goes on to say that it is Chelsea and Manchester City that are the likeliest to land the 20-year-old from Germany this summer.
For, City the situation is pretty much straightforward. The soon-to-be Premier League champions are set to lose club legend Sergio Aguero at the end of the season with his contract expiring and see Haaland as the ideal replacement to fill in his shoes, considering Gabriel Jesus has not been able to kick on as expected.
Chelsea, meanwhile, spent heavily in the summer to bolster their attacking options by signing the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech. However, none of the signings have worked out as the Blues would have envisioned, leading to speculations over their immediate future at the club.
Throw in Tammy Abraham’s potential departure in the summer and Olivier Giroud’s expiring contract, the need for another centre-forward becomes paramount. To that end, the Blues have earmarked Haaland as their top target, although former striker Romelu Lukaku is being eyed as an alternative in case the Norwegian’s pursuit falls through.
Nevertheless, it seems like Chelsea are determined to push through a deal for Haaland. The Blues are considering part-exchange and player-plus-cash options to get the transfer across the finish line. And one of the names that has been mentioned as part of swap deal is that of Werner. Despite showing signs of improvement, the German has been guilty of missing some gilt-edged chances over the course of the season.
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And, it seems like Chelsea would not be averse to using him as a makeweight in their attempt to land Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. Interestingly, there is no mention about Manchester United whatsoever in the report even though the Red Devils have been linked with the Norwegian for well over a year now.
It now remains to be seen if Chelsea push ahead with their part-exchange proposal involving Werner to secure Haaland’s transfer or whether they are beaten to the punch by Manchester City or a different club entirely. What does appear to be certain is that Liverpool will not be signing Haaland this coming summer.
