Chelsea are reportedly preparing an enormous bid worth €150 million for Erling Haaland as they look to test Borussia Dortmund’s resolve.
Speaking on ESPN FC’s Transfer Show, former footballer turned transfer insider Jan Aage Fjortoft has claimed that Chelsea are readying a ‘fantasy bid’ of €150 million as they look to try and secure the signing of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.
Haaland has quickly developed into one of the most prolific forwards in the game over the past couple of years. Having burst onto the scenes at RB Salzburg, the 20-year-old earned his big move to Borussia Dortmund in January 2020 and has since managed to elevate his reputation further with some mind-boggling performances.
To date, Haaland has plundered 57 goals in 59 games for the Black and Yellows, 41 of which came in the 2020/21 campaign. His performances have landed Haaland on the radars of almost every elite club across Europe. But, it is Chelsea that have shown the strongest interest in securing the Norwegian international’s services.
Chelsea are in the market for a new striker, having seen Olivier Giroud leave the club for AC Milan. In addition, Tammy Abraham is staring at an uncertain future at Stamford Bridge, which makes things tricky for Thomas Tuchel, considering that neither Kai Havertz nor Timo Werner were good enough in front of goal during the last season.
As a result, signing a new centre-forward becomes imperative for Chelsea, with Haaland being their primary target. And now, Fjortoft has claimed that the west London giants are set to lodge a huge bid for the 20-year-old Norwegian international.
“Chelsea have him as their main target. They would like to test Dortmund with a fantasy offer, and a fantasy offer will be around €150 million – double what they can get for him next summer,” Fjortoft said. However, the former Norwegian striker went on to add that Chelsea’s offer is unlikely to deter Dortmund’s stance on the matter.
“It’s interesting to follow, but most likely, he will stay. Dortmund say all the time ‘he will stay, he will stay’. They said that about Sancho one year ago and he stayed, so it is most likely that Haaland will still be a Dortmund player in this coming season, but we are waiting for that big, big offer from Chelsea Football Club.”
While Chelsea remain intent on signing Haaland, the Blues, of late, seem to be identifying potential backup plans in case Dortmund do not change their stance. VfB Stuttgart’s Sasa Kalajdzic has emerged as one such alternative for the Blues. It now remains to be seen whether Haaland stays put in Germany this summer or whether Chelsea are able to convince Dortmund to part ways with their starn man.
