Transfer News: Blow for Chelsea as Borussia Dortmund ace Erling Haaland wants Barcelona move
According to long-time La Liga expert Terry Gibson (h/t Daily Star), Chelsea will face a transfer blow in their pursuit for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland. The forward is convinced that his next transfer destination is Spain, playing for La Liga heavyweights Barcelona. The Blues had taken an interest in Haaland as a potential option up front next season.
The Norwegian forward is regarded as one of the best goalscorers of his generation, wanted by many of Europe’s elite clubs. However, it may seem that Barcelona may have won the race to sign the young talent, solely down to the player’s dream of playing for them.
Although the Spanish giants are currently in a financial crisis, Gibson believes that the club will get the required funds and use their big-club status pull to join the queue for Haaland in the summer.
“They’ll be in there, 100 per cent! Absolutely. They will find the money. They always find ways of raising the revenue. They’ve just done a massive new shirt sponsorship deal, which will be the world’s highest. They’ve still got the pull.”
The Norway international has a £68m buy-out clause that kicks in at the end of the season, which will see clubs like Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain all poised to launch bids for the player. However, it may prove futile if the forward himself prefers where he wants to play.
Chelsea out of Haaland race
Although Chelsea are blessed with attacking riches, the club have not seen their forwards come good this season. A big-money move this season to bring in Romelu Lukaku in an attempt to score more goals has backfired so far. The Blues may be tempted to bring in another world-class striker who can take upon the goalscoring mantle himself and provide competition to the other strikers in the squad and motivate them to do better.
The dream to bring in Haaland may need to be put away for the near future, as Gibson has said that the Norwegian would make a perfect fit for his preferred destination in Barcelona, with the Catalan club looking for an elite spearhead themselves.
“Haaland is young enough to take on that challenge. If he reproduces the goals he’s scored in Germany, he will be the absolute king in Barcelona. He’s the one player, the one sort of figure they’ve missed since Lionel Messi left – a world-class forward to lead from the front.”
Many clubs may be chasing Haaland for his signature next season, but with a whopping £300m as the total cost of acquiring the player, it may be down to a few clubs who have the funds to afford his services. The total price for Haaland is reportedly inclusive of transfer, salary, and agent fees.
Chelsea, backed by mega-rich owner Roman Abramovich, could afford to splash this amount of cash. The Russian is not afraid to flex his financial muscle, with high-profile moves for Kai Havertz and Romelu Lukaku in recent years proving that if he wants, he can bring in a striker he desperately wants for his side.
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The only obstacle in Chelsea’s path could be Haaland’s choice of playing for Barcelona, despite their financial crunch at the moment. Stranger things have happened in football, and there is no guarantee that the player will turn out in front of the Nou Camp next season if Barca are still unable to gather the funds for the 21-year-old.
Unless our strikers turn their form around and discover their scoring touch soon, Chelsea’s hierarchy could be forced to pursue other options in the summer. Haaland is arguably the best available striker on the market next summer, and with or without us in the fray, a bidding war for his services could be inevitable.