Transfer News: Chelsea table offer for Erling Haaland

Chelsea have reportedly made an opening offer of €70 million plus Tammy Abraham in order to secure the signing of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.

According to a report from Turkish journalist Ekrem Konur, Chelsea have taken the first step in their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund’s goal machine Erling Haaland. The UEFA Champions League winners have submitted a player-plus-cash bid for the Norwegian, offering €70 million in fee with Tammy Abraham as part of the deal.

Haaland has grown into one of the most in-demand centre-forwards in Europe over the past couple of years. After his stunning exploits with Austrian giants RB Salzburg, the 20-year-old sealed a transfer to Dortmund in January last year, snubbing interest from several clubs while doing so. And in his eighteen-month spell with the German giants, the forward has seen his reputation grow multifold.

The 2020/21 campaign saw Haaland plunder as many as 41 goals and set up 12 more for his teammates in 41 games across all competitions, helping Dortmund clinch a top-four finish in the Bundesliga and win the DFB Pokal. With a growing reputation, the interest in his services has also multiplied, with almost every superclub in Europe vying for his signing.

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However, it seems like it is Chelsea who have made the first move in an attempt to try and sign the Norwegian international. The Blues are in need of a new striker given as Timo Werner has failed to make the kind of impact expected while Olivier Giroud is staring at an uncertain future at the club. In addition, Tammy Abraham seems to have fallen out of favour under new manager Thomas Tuchel.

Kai Havertz has been used as a centre-forward, but Chelsea need someone more prolific if they are to compete on all four fronts and defend their Champions League crown next season. To that end, they have prioritised the signing of Haaland and were said to have made contact with Borussia Dortmund to explore the possibility of a switch.

And, it has now emerged that the Blues have indeed lodged an offer to try and secure his services. As reported by Konur, Chelsea have offered €70 million in cash plus a player, the out of favour Abraham, as part of the deal for Haaland.

As iterated earlier, Abraham has fallen way down the pecking order ever since Tuchel took over and was overlooked for a series of matches towards the end of the season. In fact, the England international was not even part of the matchday squad for the Champions League final despite being the club’s joint-top scorer for the season.

With Abraham’s future seemingly away from Stamford Bridge, Chelsea seem to be hoping to use him as a makeweight to sign Haaland. Whether Dortmund are willing to consider this offer or not remains to be seen given that they are reported to want a fee in excess of £150 million for their prized asset. The striker, for his part, is said to be keen on a transfer to Chelsea, which could help the Londoners in their endevaours.