Report: Chelsea insist on making initial bid for main target despite club’s reluctance to sell

Add as preferred source on Google

Chelsea are reportedly still keen to “jump the queue” for Erling Haaland despite Borussia Dortmund’s reluctance to lose the striker this summer, according to Eurosport.

Dortmund do not want to lose the 20-year-old in the same window that Jadon Sancho might also leave, the report claims, which is fairly understandable.

Losing their two best attackers ahead of the new season would certainly put a lot of pressure on Dortmund to find replacements and put their season at risk.

Also, Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has made a clear statement.

“Erling Haaland will still be a BVB player next season,” Watzke told SportBild last month.

The Bundesliga club even reportedly prefer to lose the Norway international when his release clause becomes active next summer despite the potential monetary loss for the club.

However, Chelsea reportedly do not to want to wait.

The Eurosport report suggests that the Blues are clearly aware of the likely bidding wars between clubs next summer for the striker — and they are eager to “jump the queue”.

Chelsea will still “test the water” with Dortmund this summer, the report added.

It remains to be clear what they intend to offer. However, the report highlighted how Chelsea have been working behind the scenes for months on personal relationships with people close to Haaland.

Chronicle view

Well, to be fair, Chelsea are clearly not the only club to have worked behind the scenes to secure the striker’s signature.

Mino Raiola and Haaland’s father Alf Inge were spotted in Spain a couple of months ago and reportedly had meetings with Barcelona and possibly Real Madrid (Sport).

As it stands, though, the La Liga giants do not seem to be making any bid for the player this summer.

To avoid having to outbid the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona — who we know are willing to offer big money to players — in terms of wages and agent fees, Chelsea would have to make their move this summer.

Although, Eurosport also mentioned that Dortmund would only listen to offers of around €160million (£137.4m). That is still a lot of money even for Chelsea.