From “Hopes Are Gone” To “Big Chance”: How Chelsea Became Favourites To Sign Erling Haaland

David Tully

3 years ago

Categories: Chelsea News, Galleries, Transfer News

Tags: Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Erling Haaland, Manchester City, Manchester United

It was only in May that The Athletic‘s Chelsea correspondent Simon Johnson stated that Chelsea’s hopes of signing Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland had all but gone.

In an article, the reliable journalist had said that while the London club had been working on the transfer since January, Dortmund’s qualification for the Champions League meant that the Blues stood little chance of snapping up the forward.

It wasn’t long, though, before there was fresh optimism that a deal could be struck, following the Blues’ sensational win against Manchester City in Porto.

Chelsea had become a much more attractive destination after being crowned European champions for the second time…

Renewed Optimism

The Daily Telegraph‘s Matt Law, who has become a trusted source for news coming out of Stamford Bridge in recent years, lit the blue touch paper with a report in early June, leading to great excitement among fans on Twitter.

In the article, the journalist confirmed that Haaland was, once again, an active target, and while a deal was still seen as quite a way off, Chelsea had received the necessary encouragement from the player’s side to press ahead with the transfer.

Dortmund’s £150m valuation was still proving a major stumbling block, and there had been speculation that the Blues could use one of Tammy Abraham or Calum Hudson-Odoi to bring the price down.

It has since been said that Tuchel wants to keep Hudson-Odoi, while Abraham is likelier to remain in England if he leaves the club, meaning Chelsea would need to find other ways to raise the cash…

Working Behind The Scenes

In the meantime, the London club have been working behind the scenes to build up relationships with the player’s entourage, in order to help negotiations run smoothly.

While there have been reports that personal terms have already been agreed, those claims came from unreliable sources and talks are probably still ongoing regarding the player’s salary and agent fees.

When it comes to rivals for Haaland, many have fallen by the wayside. Manchester City are focusing on signing Harry Kane and Jack Grealish, while Manchester United are prioritising the defence and midfield.

Real Madrid are said to be the only major worry, but even then, the Spanish club are reportedly keeping their options open, with Kylian Mbappe’s future still not resolved. It has led one journalist in Germany to make a comparison to Chelsea’s move for Kai Havertz last year…

“Big Chance” Of Signing Haaland

Bild‘s Christian Falk isn’t 100% accurate with his reporting, but he was adamant that Liverpool were after Thiago Alcantara last summer, despite many English journalists dismissing the claim, and he turned out to be correct.

Speaking about the Blues’ pursuit of Haaland last week, Falk said that Tuchel’s team had a “big chance” of securing the Norwegian international’s signature, as long as they can come up with the funds.

With further reports suggesting that the 20-year-old is interested in moving to Stamford Bridge, the key question now is whether Chelsea can raise the money required.

If they can, it would demonstrate, not only how far the club have come in a short space of time, but signal their intentions ahead of the new season.