Chelsea are continuing to work out whether a move for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland is viable this summer, and a report from Spain has suggested the Blues are ready to do whatever it takes to make the deal happen.
Haaland is on the radar of most of Europe's elite, with Manchester United, Manchester City and Real Madrid regularly named as suitors, but Dortmund are under no pressure to sell and have slapped a price tag of around £150m on the striker's head.
Understandably, that fee has scared most of the interested sides away, but Chelsea were recently revealed to be exploring ways to get a deal done, and now Marca have claimed that Blues owner Roman Abramovich is prepared to pay whatever Dortmund to make sure he gets Haaland this summer.
Reports in Spain have previously stated that Abramovich told manager Thomas Tuchel that he would bring him Haaland in exchange for a spot in next season's Champions League, and with Chelsea winning the whole competition this year, things appear to have stepped into overdrive.
Abramovich is now rumoured to be prepared to pay that £150m to force his way to the front of the queue for Haaland's signature.
While the idea of Abramovich flexing his financial muscle isn't exactly too far-fetched, this is £150m we're talking about here. Chelsea spent over £200m last summer and have plans to do something similar this summer even if they don't sign Haaland. A £50m deal for Inter right-back Achraf Hakimi is being discussed, while there are also plans to sign a new centre-back and central midfielder.
It's incredibly hard to see where Chelsea would find that spare £150m to spend on a player who will be available for half that figure when his release clause kicks in next year.
It's for that reason that The Telegraph's recent suggestion that Chelsea could be trying to organise a deal for next summer makes a little more sense.
Haaland is understood to have made it clear that he would be interested in joining Chelsea and would not be against the idea of waiting an extra 12 months to seal a move to Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea are looking at ways to secure an agreement with Dortmund that would allow them to keep their star striker for another year if necessary.
It's worth noting that Haaland's interest in joining Chelsea is not a sign of disinterest in his other suitors. The 20-year-old has simply made it clear he could see himself in Chelsea blue one day, but may end up saying the same about any of the other sides interested in him.
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Source: 90min
