Chelsea is left frustrated as sanctions imposed on former owner Roman Abramovich prevented the English Club from negotiating with Erling Halland.
The UK Government on 10th March 2022 placed sanctions on the owner of Chelsea Roman Abramovich due to his close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid his country’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
The sanctions prevented Chelsea from signing new players and also negotiating the contracts of existing players.
Chelsea is believed to have made the signing of a Dortmund striker their top priority after failing to land him last season.
According to ESPN, Official at Chelsea are unhappy that they can’t even attempt a move for Haaland as they look to set miss out on one of football’s biggest young talents
Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea had identified the Norwegian striker as the potential replacement for Romelu Lukaku after the Belgian striker failed to live up to expectations in his second spell at Chelsea.
Chelsea was close to landing Erling Halaand last season but the striker’s wage demand pulled Chelsea off and the blues shifted their attention to Romelu Lukaku who had been impressed that season.
Lukaku was in high demand last season after scoring 30 goals in 44 appearances and helping Inter Milan win their first Serie A title in 10 years.
The Belgian won the Serie A footballer of the year last season which prompted Chelsea to spend a record £97.5million on their former player.
However,Romelu Lukaku has failed to replicate his last season’s form at Inter Milan and has struggled this season at Chelsea scoring 12 goals in 40 appearances.
Lukaku has not scored in the Premier League since December 29 against Brighton.
Thomas Tuchel now prefers Kai Havertz to Romelu Lukaku after the Belgian fell out with the manager. In a controversial interview with Sky Sport, the Chelsea striker aimed a dig at Thomas Tuchel for playing him out of position and claims he loved to go back to Inter Milan.
Chelsea seemed to have placed the signing of Erling Halland as their top priority this summer but Manchester City is in a good position to sign the striker this season.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City has a deal in principle to make Halaand the highest-paid player in the Premier League.
The Citizens are ready to offer a staggering £500,000 per week for the 21 years old striker.
Manchester United Legend Luis Saha believes Manchester United will be a better option for Erling Halaand.
“Yes, they will still recognise that United is a huge club, and the club will get the respect it deserves.
“Haaland is young and ready for a step up, at the moment there are obviously bigger destinations where Champions League football is guaranteed, where trophies are maybe more likely.
“I understand that. But the player (Haaland) is smart enough to understand that United will be back at the top, that’s for sure, and he will fit the bill.
“That’s what United are looking for – someone who can guarantee goals, will definitely play for many, many years and who knows, could even break records.”
Erling Haaland is currently Europe’s most in-demand striker and has scored a staggering 85 goals in 87 games since joining the Bundesliga side in January 2020.
