Powerhouse wants €35 million-a-year to sign to for Chelsea, Blues to allow duo leave, as Kovacic reveals what Chelsea should expect from Madrid clash
According to reports, Chelsea target Erling Haaland is demanding wages of €35 million-a-year (£30m/$42m) to leave Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
Dortmund have made their position clear that they do not want to sell Haaland this summer, and the player’s reported release clause does not come into play until the following year, but it if firmly believed that he will leave the German side in the summer.
However, if the likes of Chelsea wish to secure a transfer deal for Haaland, reports on the GOAL website have claimed that he is demanding wages of €35 million-a-year (£30m/$42m).
The news comes just a few days after super-agent Mino Raiola declared that he is not at war with Dortmund over Haaland.
“I can confirm that I was in Dortmund for talks,” Raiola told SPORT1 . “Michael Zorc (Dortmund’s sporting director) made it clear to us that BVB do not want to sell Erling this summer.
“I respect this opinion, but that does not automatically mean that I also agree.
“BVB were very clear in their views. We are okay with that.
“There is no war between us and BVB – absolutely not!
“The relationship with Zorc, Aki (Hans-Joachim Watzke, Dortmund CEO) and [Sebastian] Kehl (Dortmund director) is still good.”
According to the latest reports, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech could be set for some summer exits from Chelsea at the end of the season.
Werner and Ziyech were two big signings for Chelsea last season when Frank Lampard was handed over £200 million to spend on new players, but despite all the hype and excitement around their arrivals, they have now shone like many had hoped.
Werner is in a race against time to show his worth to Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, who is set to finalise his summer transfer plans in the coming days, according to the Evening Standard.
Tuchel is reportedly keen on both Sergio Aguero and Erling Haaland, which leaves the misfiring Werner with an uncertain future.
The £45million signing from RB Leipzig has managed just two goals in his last 29 appearances, and while Chelsea are not actively looking to sell him, Werner could be allowed to leave if funds are required for Tuchel’s targets.
And Spanish publication AS have claimed that Ziyech could also be a player that is allowed to leave the club at the end of the season.
The Blues are eager to generate funds for further additions through summer sales, with Tammy Abraham and Tiemoue Bakayoko among the others that could be offloaded.
Kovacic reveals what Chelsea should expect from Madrid clash
Kovacic will miss out for Chelsea in their FA Cup semi final tie with Manchester City and will be desperate to feature against his former club later this month.
Madrid set up their Champions League semi with Chelsea courtesy of a 3-01 aggregate victory over Liverpool in the quarters, while the Blues made it through 24 hours previously thanks to a 2-1 aggregate win over Porto.
Zinedine Zidane, who returned to Madrid as manager in 2019, was also in charge at the club when Kovacic was there. The relationship between the two was not quite as fruitful second time around as it was the first however.
But the Croat has previously explained what Zidane is like as a coach and that could benefit Chelsea in their upcoming semi final later this month.
In an interview with FourFourTwo last year, Kovacic said of Zidane: ““Zidane was similar to the way Frank Lampard is as a coach, and their approaches really suit me.
“It was nice to play under Zidane, but I thought he could have given me a deserved opportunity in the third Champions League final.
“That was the main reason for my dissatisfaction, but that’s football and we parted with no bad feelings.
“I came to Chelsea under Sarri, but I must say that Lampard is an exceptional manager. He has kept the character he had as a player in his personality as a coach, which has inspired all of us.
“He commits himself with everything he’s got. Training is always challenging and different from last season.”
Lampard is obviously no longer in charge of Chelsea but Kovacic had plenty of time to work with the former club-record goalscorer, who he says methods are similar to Zidane’s, so that can only help Thomas Tuchel prepare for what is set to be a blockbuster two-legged affair in the semi finals.