Chelsea have given up on signing Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland this summer, according to The Athletic‘s Simon Johnson.

There was optimism as recently as January that the Blues could make a deal happen at the end of the season but Johnson says Dortmund’s qualification for the Champions League has ended those hopes:

“As things stand, all the significant forwards they have looked at don’t appear to be heading to Stamford Bridge any time soon. For example, in January The Athletic reported how the club were doing everything they could to sign Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland. However, sources have said those hopes are gone now the Bundesliga club have booked their place in the Champions League next season. They weren’t keen to sell anyway, but have no intention of doing so now.”

In addition to Haaland, a move for Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku is now unlikely, both due to the Belgian’s reluctance to move, and the fact that the Nerazzurri’s financial problems have eased after a £263m investment from Oaktree Capital.

Speculation surrounding a bid for Harry Kane is also believed to be overly optimistic. The striker’s preference is reportedly Manchester City, rather than Chelsea or Manchester United and Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is not willing to negotiate with the Blues.

At the moment, the only chink of light is the hope that if Antonio Conte does decide to leave Inter, it could well reopen the possibility of signing Lukaku.