It’s no secret that it’s the hardest part of football to find the net, so when a prodigy who scores goals in his sleep becomes available, every major club in Europe sits up and notices.
Erling Haaland has already collected 126 astonishing career goals even though he is only 20 years old, with his growing list of admirers leaving Borussia Dortmund with a huge decision to make.
Haaland’s current deal with Der BVB includes a € 75 million (£ 64 million) release clause that will be active next summer, but 90 Minutes recently revealed exclusively that Chelsea are keen to avoid the inevitably long transfer saga and are prepared to offer up to £ 150 meters for the Norwegian hitman.
Sounds like an absolute no-brainer, right?
Dortmund would mainly receive around 86 million pounds just to be without Haaland for an extra season, knowing that he will get to the front door next summer anyway.
The Norwegian game Erling Haaland is on Chelsea’s radar / Fran Santiago / Getty Images
Whether a deal can be struck remains to be seen, but for those of you who are not too familiar with Haaland’s fantastic talents, a team willing to pay £ 86 million for a season of his services tells you everything you need to know.
So we have determined that Dortmund would be angry to turn down the offer and that Chelsea are clearly keen to secure their signatures, but would his arrival at Stamford Bridge this summer make them Premier League favorites?
Thomas Tuchel’s arrival in west London last January completely transformed the Chelsea campaign – which until then looked like it resulted in a mid-table by the way – with the Blues somehow securing a top four and then continuing to win the Champions League.
Undoubtedly, the foundation for Chelsea’s fantastic second half of the season was built on their stiff back line, where the Blues only scored two goals in Tuchel’s first 14 games.
90 ??? ?????????: Chelsea are prepared to offer up to 150 million pounds for Haaland, and believe that Dortmund could not say no to that. ?
– 90min (@ 90min_Football) July 7, 2021
Only Premier League winner City conceded fewer than the Blues ’36 league goals last season, although their mediocre 58 points were even surpassed by Leeds’ ninth.
Haaland will definitely help them add to that, but signing a prolific goal scorer does not automatically mean they will be the best side in the league.
Harry Kane won the Premier League gold boot last season, but Tottenham could not even get into the Europa League, while not a single champion Manchester City striker made it to double figures in league goals.
A player like Haaland must be central to a team’s style of play, but having a player on whom your entire line-up is based can see goals from other parts of Chelsea’s team dry up and ultimately be an obstacle.
Obviously, there is also the question of how much the Blues competitors will strengthen this summer.
Erling Haaland could still stay at Dortmund for another year / Matthias Hangst / Getty Images
While Tuchel did outstanding to reach a top-four finish for his team last season, the standard for last season’s Premier League team was nowhere near the level we expected, and with both Manchester clubs appearing to strengthen their squads this summer, it is unlikely that the signing of Haaland will be enough to make the Blues favorites for the title.
Chelsea have done a decent job of killing the careers of some fantastic strikers in recent decades, but honestly, it’s hard to imagine them even turning Haaland into a faulty frontman.
The 20-year-old’s strength, technique and eye for goal mean that he could probably play in almost every starting XI in Europe, but his arrival does not make Chelsea favorites for the Premier League.
Depending on who else they bring to the club and how well their rivals do in the transfer market, they could say about next season’s title race – but it takes more than a signing to give them the prestigious tag.
