Reporter delivers update on Chelsea FC link to Erling Haaland
Fabrizio Romano explains how Chelsea FC were priced out of a move for Erling Haaland this summer
Chelsea FC ended up being priced out of a move to sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund this summer, according to Italian reporter Fabrizio Romano.
The south west London side were strongly linked with a move to sign Haaland from Dortmund earlier on in the summer window before Romelu Lukaku emerged as Chelsea FC’s main target up front in recent days.
Haaland, 21, is widely considered to be one of European football’s most promising young attacking talents but as things stand, it appears that he will be remaining at the German club beyond the summer.
According to Italian journalist Romano, Chelsea FC had a strong interest in Haaland this summer but they switched their attentions elsewhere after it became clear that they would not be able to meet Dortmund’s asking price.
Speaking on the Here We Go podcast, Romano said: “They [Chelsea FC] wanted Haaland as a priority. They’ve been inquiring but never made an official bid as Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea say. They knew making a bid for €110m-130m wasn’t smart because Borussia Dortmund were going to refuse this bid.
“They had in plan to try again and find a solution but Borussia Dortmund were always the same like Sancho last summer. They were asking €175m because they always wanted to keep the player.
“By the end of July, they had a feeling around Lukaku that there was a chance to sign him. Inter were saying it was impossible to sign Lukaku and they always said he was untouchable. He was acting like the king of Milan: ‘I love the city, I want to stay here’. It was the position of everyone involved in the situation.
“By the end of July, Chelsea felt something was going to change because of Inter’s financial situation. They felt Inter were open to selling Lukaku.
“They said, ‘let’s go on Lukaku’ because they can’t sign Haaland now and [they] can sign Lukaku with an interesting bid.”
Chelsea FC, who finished fourth and won the Champions League last season, will kick off their new Premier League campaign with a home clash against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
