Erling Haaland to Chelsea FAQ's

Your step by step guide to the latest superstar pursuit of Chelsea's...

The rumours are rife around the 20-year-old Norwegian sensation. The question on everybody’s lips, where will Erling Braut Haaland sign next?

Below I cover all angles in Chelsea’s confirmed pursuit of Borussia Dortmund’s latest goal scoring machine…

What’s the latest?

A - Chelsea are interested in Haaland and are exploring all the necessary avenues to garner whether a move this summer is plausible. As a reminder, Erling’s £68m release clause cannot be triggered until the summer of 2022, which means any bid from Chelsea this upcoming summer would need to be significantly more than this in order to entice him away from Borussia Dortmund.

Are Chelsea really interested?

A - As I reported back in the summer of 2020, then an update in October 2020, Chelsea have always maintained an interest in the player and have scouted him extensively. 

In summary, here is what I wrote a few months back on this situation, which remains consistent to this day: 

‘Haaland has been scouted by Chelsea, and the club has made Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola aware they would like to be “kept updated” with Haaland’s next moves. The latest we are told from Chelsea’s end is that Roman loves the player and is willing to sanction a move to bring him to South West London. For what it’s worth, Marina and Thomas Tuchel are also big fans of the Norwegian.

How long have Chelsea been interested?

A - As shared by close club contact, Matt Law; Chelsea were in negotiations to sign Haaland when he was still with Red Bull Salzburg. However, Chelsea wasn’t willing to stump up the considerable wages and agent fee back then. They have kept tabs on Haaland since, extensively scouting him and his meteoric rise in recent times.

Is Haaland interested in Chelsea?

A - This is the million-dollar question. Erling, his family and his representatives are widely now known for their calculated approach towards the young starlets progress in his career.

Haaland has said in interviews before he enjoys the Premier League and would eventually want to play there, also naming Frank Lampard as the player he would most want to play with. Erling’s father, Alf-Inge also played for Manchester City in the early 2000s, after time spent with Nottingham Forest and Leeds United respectively in the 1990s.

What’s his agent saying?

A - His agent is the ever-popular Mino Raiola, who actually came out yesterday with the following quotes on the situation:

"It is obvious that everybody is looking at Erling as one of those potential new future stars because it's so difficult to do what he does at his age at his level," he said.

"He will be one of the future stars of the next decade because we see that stars such as Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo and Messi are coming to an age where everyone asks themselves: 'How long can we still enjoy them?' So everyone is looking for the new generation.

"Only a maximum of 10 clubs can afford to buy [Haaland] and give the platform you would like after you've been in Dortmund… and four of those clubs are in [England].

"I don't think there's a sports director or trainer in the world who would say 'not interested'. It's like saying: 'Is there a Formula 1 team who would not be interested in having Lewis Hamilton?'"

When will we know more?

A - As I mentioned above, Haaland and his representatives are very calm and calculated with their approach to his career choices.

I am told they are in no rush to decide his future as of now, as he is fully focused on his duties in Germany.

With the way Raiola operates, expect more action from him than Haaland himself, unless we are talking about his incredible talents on the pitch.

I doubt we will have a ‘significant’ update on this before the closing months of the current season. Instead, I believe we will hear/see a lot of regurgitated news on this saga, in order for Raiola and his representatives to ramp up the interest in the superstar, plus allowing Erling to focus on his current adventure with Dortmund.

What’s your personal opinion, Dan?

For what it’s worth, I have always maintained this move to be an unlikely one for Chelsea.

I feel he may seek patience in his next move and want to wait another year to make this decision, which would dampen Chelsea’s negotiating power. Alongside this is the fact Chelsea may struggle to financially compete with the world’s elite in the event that Haaland chooses to wait for his release clause to be activated in 2022, with those super-clubs slowly recovering in their financial and playing powers.

Nevertheless, being the optimist I am, I will say Chelsea are most definitely working on this behind the scenes, with recent signs pointing in a positive direction regarding a potential move.

In addition to this, friend of ours and former Podcast guest Dean Jones reported in his Eurosport column just yesterday that ‘Chelsea are becoming increasingly hopeful about their dream of landing Erling Haaland this summer, and they have been quietly making progress behind the scenes to show influential figures close to Haaland that their project will be worth strong consideration when decision time comes.’

In conclusion, with any transfer of this magnitude, rumours will be aplenty, with a slow-burning pace constituting this saga.

Haaland will have all the top clubs after him this summer and next. Whatever move Erling Braut Haaland makes, it will be one of true calculation, serious figures, and well, hopefully, Chelsea…

Written by Dan McCarthy @MaccaSport