Erling Haaland (20) is a man in demand this summer, as the biggest spenders in world football queue in the hope of luring him away from Borussia Dortmund.
Haaland missed Dortmund’s first day of pre-season training on Monday, fueling speculation regarding his future. Borussia’s sporting director Michael Zorc addressed the situation with a joke. “He’s already in England,” the official told Sky Sport in Germany, with a large smile on his face. But is it just a joke or could there be more to it? German paper Bild reported that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich approved a $210 million bid for Haaland, while Manchester City is considering an initial approach worth $180 million.
Christian Falk, the Head of Football at Sport Bild claims Dortmund is firmly saying no to a Haaland transfer this summer.
Borussia Dortmund keep saying no to a Transfer of @ErlingHaaland to @ChelseaFC this summer
— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) July 12, 2021
On the other hand, Jan Aage Fjortoft, a former Norwegian international turned consultant, claims Chelsea are preparing a ‘BIG offer’ which “Dortmund won’t say no to”. Of course, only if it’s as high as $210 million.
“Dortmund will give way” if the $210 million offer comes
Erling Haaland broke record after record since making his debut at senior level for Norwegian side Molde, aged 16. The striker scored his first Champions League goal in September 2019, while playing for Austrian champions RB Salzburg. He now has 24, netting at an unbelievable rate for both Salzburg and Dortmund, where he moved in January 2020.
At 20, Haaland is Norway’s joint-third highest scoring player in UEFA club competitions, behind Harald Brattbakk (31 in 75 games) and John Carew (28 in 85). He’s level on 24 goals with Toré André Flo (who needed 61 matches to achieve the same total). His coach at Molde, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, now the Manchester United manager, ended his career with 23 European goals.
He finished the 2020-2021 Champions League season with 10 goals in 8 games. In all competitions, Haaland has an overall of 41 goals in 41 outings at Dortmund in the previous campaign.
He was linked with moves to Barcelona, Real Madrid, Man City, Man United, Chelsea, or Liverpool in the previous months. According to Sport1’s chief reporter Patrick Berger, Haaland can imagine himself playing for Chelsea, Manchester City, and Real Madrid. Just like Fjortoft, Berger claims Borussia “will give way” in case Chelsea comes knocking with a $210 million offer.
Re: Haaland
I understand Chelsea are preparing a “BIG offer†to check out and challenge Dortmund’s “he will stay here next seasonâ€.
The understanding is that Dortmund won’t say no to 175 million euro
— Jan Aage Fjortoft ðŸ³ï¸â€ðŸŒˆ 🇳🇴 (@JanAageFjortoft) July 12, 2021
How would an opening season at Chelsea look like for Haaland?
OnlineGambling.com performed a simulation on the wildly popular Football Manager to get a feel of the impact Haaland would have at Chelsea. In his inaugural season at Stamford Bridge following a $240 million move, the Norwegian scored 32 goals, also contributing with 11 assists for his teammates. Twenty came in the Premier League, with another six in the Champions League and six in the domestic cups (four in the FA Cup and two in the Carabao Cup).
Haaland’s excellent scoring rate didn’t help Chelsea much in terms of winning trophies. Tuchel’s men slumped to a disappointing sixth-place finish as Manchester City secured another Premier League title at the end of the simulated campaign. No glory came in the Champions League either. The FA Cup trophy was the only piece of silverware Haaland won for Chelsea in the 2021-2022 season.
Chelsea is now at -110 for signing him, with Manchester City at +200 and Real Madrid at +300. Manchester United is nowhere near, at +900, with Barcelona at a huge +2400.
