Chelsea are weighing up a £135 offer for Borussia Dortmund centre-forward Erling Haaland, according to the latest reports.
The Norway sensation has emerged as the club’s number one transfer target this summer, as manager Thomas Tuchel seeks to revamp his team ahead of his first full campaign at the helm.
Tuchel led the Blues to UEFA Champions League glory in May, just four months after the German replaced club legend Frank Lampard in the Stamford Bridge hot seat.
The former BVB and Paris Saint-German boss deployed Kai Havertz as a false nine for much of last season, with another compatriot Timo Werner used as a left-sided forward.
Olivier Giroud has since left the British capital for AC Milan, while young centre-forward Tammy Abraham also looks set to depart Stamford Bridge.
There is a vacancy at striker, then, and the English club want to fill it with Haaland.
According to a recent report from 90min, the European champions are thinking about submitting an official offer for the 21-year-old attacking sensation worth £135m.
That would shatter the London heavyweights’ record transfer sum: the £72 million they paid for Havertz last year.
Die Borussen continue to insist that their key man is going nowhere and is an integral part of their plans for the 2021/22 season.
But Chelsea are prepared to test the German outfit’s resolve by tabling a massive offer for their prized asset.
A buy-out clause in Haaland’s current deal will make the former RB Salzburg prodigy available for around £66 million in 2022.
And Chelsea will hope that the opportunity to pocket a significantly higher sum this summer will prove too good for Marco Rose’s side to turn down.
Roman Abramovich showed a desire to back Lampard in the transfer window ahead of last season, and the Chelsea supremo is now doing the same for the German tactician.
That makes sense as Thomas exceeded all expectations in winning the UEFA Champions League and securing a top-four finish in the English top-flight, Premier League in 2020/21.
Lifting the PL trophy will be next on Thomas’ to-do list, but that will be difficult unless his club sign a new striker.
The competition for Erling’s signature will be fierce next year, and the manager clearly wants to steal a march on other potential buyers by agreeing a deal in the coming weeks.
