Erling Haaland snubs Chelsea but Champions League football may convince him

It was recently reported by BILD that Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland had made a shortlist of six European clubs he would prefer to join this summer and Chelsea were not on the list.

Premier League trio Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City were mentioned as suitable options for the 20-year-old alongside Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

While Chelsea have also been credited with an interest, the story claimed that the forward would not want to leave Dortmund for another intermediate step with the Blues.

It is unclear whether there is any truth to the speculation, but we believe that Thomas Tuchel’s side have an equally good chance of luring the centre-forward compared to their European counterparts.

Dortmund are currently struggling to make the top four in the German top-flight and they are four points adrift of the Champions League places with 10 games left this term.

There is the prospect of them missing out on Champions League qualification, which could pave the way for the striker’s departure this summer.

Haaland’s current deal has a release clause worth £66 million which becomes active in June 2022, but there is speculation that they could sanction his sale for a higher fee of £100m this summer.

Considering the price tag, only a few clubs could be in the running to land the striker. The Blues have the backing of owner Roman Abramovich and should be able to meet the transfer fee and wage demands of the Norwegian.

On top of this, they seem on course for another top-four finish to assure them of Champions League football and that should be an added boost in the player’s pursuit.

Meanwhile, there is also the lure of playing in the English capital and Haaland has the chance of becoming the centrepiece of attraction in a young, but expensively assembled squad.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com