A section of Chelsea’s hierarchy believe they can lure Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Braut Haaland to the club this summer, a report from ESPN claims.
Haaland is one of Europe’s brightest young strikers and has excelled at Dortmund this term with 27 goals and eight assists from just 27 appearances.
The Norwegian’s current contract with the Bundesliga outfit has a release clause worth £66 million, but that only becomes active in June 2022.
It has been suggested that Dortmund could sell him for a higher fee this summer and the Blues are aiming to lure him ahead of their European rivals.
The west London side are willing to hand a bumper contract to Haalan and they believe he could be tempted by a move to London.
The Blues also feel the 20-year-old may be lured by the prospect of becoming the centrepiece of their young, but expensively assembled squad.
Sportslens view:
The Blues have revived their campaign since Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard as the manager in January and they are unbeaten in eight league games.
The run has included five wins and three draws and that has recently propelled them into the fourth position in the Premier League table.
Champions League football is a necessity to lure a player of Haaland’s calibre and the Blues look good value to finish in the top four based on their recent form.
The Blues have set up an ambitious project and they spent big money to lure Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech to the club last summer.
Earlier in 2019, they also recruited Christian Pulisic and the future looks bright with club graduates Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Reece James also making their mark.
Haaland would be the star of the show should he make the switch to Stamford Bridge and he has the chance to become the leader of a young looking attack.
Tuchel prefers to play with two up front and Werner could potentially form a potent strike partnership with Haaland and transform the Blues into genuine title contenders.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com