Should Chelsea Go All In on Erling Haaland?

In the age of football where utilizing extreme amounts of money is the norm for the world’s top clubs, it’s not surprising to hear that Chelsea -- the defending UEFA Champions League winners -- are in the market for another major spending spree less than a year after bringing in Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech and Edouard Mendy.

The Blues have been ambitious in the time that owner Roman Abramovich has owned the Premier League side, which has commonly included sacking managers despite winning titles and moving on from superstar players.

For the second time now in the past decade, Chelsea are European champions, which brings about a new level of pressure for a club that has cemented themselves in the upper echelon of not only the Premier League but all the top teams throughout the continent.

In their first season at Stamford Bridge, it’s easy to argue that Werner, Havertz and Ziyech didn’t fully live up to the billing that was anticipated for a trio of players that feature that much talent.

Now, Werner did finish the season with 12 goals to go along with 15 assists in all competitions and Havertz netted the winner in the UCL final that put the Blues past Manchester City. 

However, there’s a name potentially on the market that would be a game-changing addition to any club in the world.

That player is Erling Haaland.

The rumor mill has been churning with links between Chelsea and the Borussia Dortmund striker for some time now, and it appears that the Blues have made it their top priority to ensure they secure Haaland’s signature either this summer or next year. 

From the outside it seems like a no brainer for manager Thomas Tuchel and his side. They have the money. They have had the success to lure a player of his caliber. They play in a league widely considered to be the best in the world. 

From Haaland’s perspective it may be a little different. While he’s more than talented enough to play at a club like Chelsea, that very reason could make him leave his options open for the future.

The Blues certainly aren’t the only club monitoring Haaland’s future plans, with Man City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona just a few of the other major clubs that have the means necessary to bring in a talent as stellar as the Dortmund man.

It’s easy to argue though that Chelsea may be one of the few teams with the biggest need at striker though. Havertz began to establish himself towards the end of the season in a variety of roles, but Tuchel did employ him as a false 9 up front at times.

Meanwhile, Werner was most successful when played up top or on the right wing, but his production certainly wasn’t where the club needed it to be throughout the entire Premier League season. 

Olivier Giroud is nearing the end of his career and will likely finish up elsewhere, while Tammy Abraham has been out of favor since the arrival of Tuchel. Abraham, in particular, is still young and possesses a lot of transfer value so it’s quite possible that Chelsea could soon only have Werner available as the team’s striker. 

The need for a Haaland is absolutely warranted if you’re the Blues, and the connection between he and several of Chelsea’s current contingent from their time in the Bundesliga could be a major selling point to Haaland.

This past season, Haaland only trailed Robert Lewandowski in the Bundesliga race for Golden Boot after notching 27 goals and six assists in 28 matches.

His ability to stretch the pitch and drop into the midfield to collect the ball makes Haaland extremely difficult to contain in the attacking third. Meanwhile, his speed is nearly unmatched and allows him to separate himself from defenders in tight spaces.

Ultimately it appears the situation will come down to Dortmund, who have set Haaland’s transfer price tag at 150 million Euros this summer or if teams wait a year it could drastically fall to near half that price as his contract nears the end.

With money not being a major issue for the Stamford Bridge side, it’s hard to see any conceivable reason why Chelsea shouldn’t and won’t make a serious push to bring Haaland to London this summer.