Exclusive – Chelsea are prepared to offer up to 150 million pounds for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland this summer in the belief that such a big bid will not be rejected by the Bundesliga side.
Although they spent around £ 120m last summer on Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, Chelsea are still in the market for an out and out striker this year, especially with Tammy Abraham estimated to be in excess of the requirements and 34-year-old Olivier Giroud also expected to move on .
90 minutes first revealed the Blues’ interest in Haaland already in December and a striker has always been close to the top of their priority list this summer.
Owner Roman Abramovich would love to be former Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku. Belgium are one of his favorite players and manager Thomas Tuchel has supported a possible return to Stamford Bridge, although Inter’s recent big sale of Achraf Hakimi to PSG and expected other departures will now likely ward off financial pressure to sell Lukaku or Lautaro Martinez .
Inter are unlikely to sell Romelu Lukaku / Marco Canoniero / Getty Images
It will drive Chelsea to now focus their efforts on signing Haaland this summer, even though they know a € 75 million release clause will be active next year. However, that clause will provide huge competition and with no one else ready to go big now, Chelsea have spied on an opportunity to pull off what would become a huge new British record transfer.
90min understands that Chelsea have already had long talks with Haaland’s camp, led by agent Mino Raiola, and that personal terms are not a problem. The 20-year-old Norwegian, who was born in Leeds while his father was based there, is also happy to move to London.
Chelsea are now examining the finer details of bidding up to £ 150m for Haaland, although they still prefer it to be close to £ 135m given the high cost. But since it is not a release clause, it is possible to shift a payment structure, which would help the blues avoid financial Fair Play risks, while a 20-year-old Haaland is an investment both now and in the long run.
Dortmund, who have already agreed a deal of £ 73 million to sell Jadon Sancho to Manchester United, are aware of the situation and are making up for a British record offer from Chelsea. They also know that no other club is currently willing to go the same length this year.
Dortmund will only receive 64 million pounds (75 million euros) if they wait until next year to sell Haaland when his release clause becomes active / Matthias Hangst / Getty Images
Dortmund have previously made it clear that they will refuse to sell Haaland and were serious about it. But a source with knowledge of the transfer has told 90 Minutes that that was when the potential fee was £ 100 million. It is now a different situation with figures between 135 million and 150 million being talked about, more than twice as much as Dortmund could hope to sell for next year.
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