Chelsea are being heavily linked with bolstering their attacking ranks with a summer move for Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is continuing to stop gatherings taking place, meaning turnstiles are still unable to click. Even for clubs at the very top of the sport, the pandemic is hitting them hard, with many having been forced to take out loans to cover the costs they have lost as a result of fans not flooding the stadiums on a Saturday afternoon.
But it isn’t just in England where things are a problem, the same can be said all over Europe, such as in Germany and Spain.
Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund, who kick-started football’s return in May last year following the first lockdown period, are amongst those suffering, with the club having announced losses of £23million for the second half of last year, with the pandemic the main cause.
With financial issues mounting, Dortmund have to ensure they qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League in order to cover those losses, as the financial gains that can be made by securing a spot in European football’s top club competition can be massive.
However, if Dortmund do fail to secure themselves a spot in the Champions League next season they are going to be forced into cutting their cloth, a report by BBC Sport claims. Dortmund have compiled an “emergency list” of players currently on their books that will need to be sold in order to recoup the money they have not been able to earn by qualifying.
Unsurprisingly, the names that spearhead the list are the likes of Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham. All three of those players have been heavily linked with moves to Chelsea in recent months, especially Haaland, who is reported to be Thomas Tuchel’s top target ahead of the summer transfer window opening for business in a few months time.
Haaland has quickly blossomed into one of the greatest young talents on the planet, with his goal-scoring record for a player of his age remarkable. Despite being only 20-years-old, the Norway international has scored 23 goals in 23 appearances in all competitions for Dortmund this season.
However, Dortmund are not prepared to let go of all of their most valuable assets in one go, but one or two could be allowed to leave this forthcoming summer.
Whether Haaland will be one of them remains to be seen, as his release clause, which has a value of £65million, does not become active until the summer of 2022. Dortmund are likely to command a much bigger fee for him this summer than what his release clause is worth but they are unlikely to find a striker as talented as him at this moment in time.
But with that said, if a club, perhaps Chelsea, comes along with a bid worth around £100million, Dortmund will surely be tempted to part with him if they have failed to qualify for the Champions League for the 2021/22 campaign.
Last week, Tuchel addressed reports linking Chelsea with a move for Haaland but he, as expected, batted away those links.
