Chelsea transfer latest: Fabrizio Romano reveals Erling Haaland rumours are '100% true' | OneFootball

According to famed journalist Fabrizio Romano, speculation over Chelsea’s interest in Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland is “100% true”.

Norwegian journalist Jan Aage Fjortoft claimed that Chelsea are working hard to sign Dortmund’s Haaland and are confident that the high fee involved can be met.

Fjortoft also suggests that the wage structure at Stamford Bridge could be the biggest obstacle in regards to a deal for the centre-forward this summer, only adding to the complexity of the proposed transfer.

What has Fabrizio Romano said about Haaland?

Speaking on the Here We Go Podcast, Romano confirmed Fjortoft’s claims although he added that Dortmund do not want to sell the 20-year-old this summer, as losing Haaland and Jadon Sancho would be complicated for the Bundesliga outfit.

The journalist said, “There are rumours coming from Jan Aage Fjortoft. He is always correct when he talks on these kind of players and it’s 100% true that Chelsea are interested in Erling Haaland. Confirmed and true.

“Dortmund’s position is that the player is not leaving this summer. If they sell Sancho, they see it as really complicated to sell Haaland,” he said.

“Borussia Dortmund have no intention to negotiate.”

How much could Haaland cost this summer?

If Chelsea were to attempt to convince Dortmund to sell their star man, Romano suggested that a fee in the region of €150m (£129.6m) would be required.

“For sure Chelsea want to try,” said Romano. “If Chelsea want to do something crazy, and when I say crazy, it’s more than €150m (£129.6m).”

At such a high fee, it begs the question – is it really worth it? Arguably not.

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Would Chelsea be better off waiting until next summer?

As reported by Romano in February, Haaland has a release clause of €75m (roughly £64.8m) included in his contract at Dortmund. The clause will reportedly come into effect in the summer transfer window of 2022.

That would suggest that Chelsea would be better off waiting until next summer as they would need to pay half of what the German club are demanding this year, although it's not hard to imagine other clubs being keen.

The Blues are blessed with a lot of quality in attacking areas such as the likes of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic, and Thomas Tuchel's side are not desperate for reinforcements, albeit bringing in a player of Haaland's quality would naturally be welcome.