REPORT: Dortmund finally reveals why they can change their mind over Haaland transfer to Chelsea
According to Football London, Chelsea are running out of time to bolster their first-team squad even further.
In just over a month, the summer transfer window will close and so far the sole new signing at Stamford Bridge is that of goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli, who has joined on a free after leaving Fulham at the end of last month.
With that said, the Blues are expected to be busy between now and deadline day on August 31.
Although, Dortmund’s stance on the Norway striker has been the same all the way through the summer: he is not for sale – with the club’s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke seemingly delivering a blow to the west London outfit.
“It is pretty clear to me that Erling Haaland will stay at Dortmund, just as Julian Brandt will remain,” he said. “I tend to say that every day but no one really seems to listen as I hear something new every week.”
Perhaps a reason for that “no one” seems to be listening to this stance is because the Bundesliga side do have previous when it comes to performing U-turns on player sales.
However, for example, in the summer of 2017 when Ousmane Dembele was being linked with a move to Barcelona, Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc was adamant the Frenchman was not for sale.
“No way,” he told Die Welt. “What we’ve seen [from him] was extraordinary, both in his value for the team and his development.
“You always get the feeling he can do something special, make the difference. He can decide games by himself, even those games he’s not really involved in.”
One name who has constantly been linked with a move to Chelsea is Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland, who reportedly has a £150million price tag on his head this summer.
However, a few days before deadline day, Dembele was sold to Barcelona in the summer of 2018 for an initial fee of £96.8m, potentially rising to £135.5m.
With this example in mind, Dortmund may have already offered Chelsea hope of completing a deal for Haaland this summer despite Watzke’s latest comments.
But for the German side to perform another U-turn, one would assume that the Blues have to make an offer that can’t be refused, while also leaving time for Dortmund to sign a replacement.