Chelsea throw in Abraham to sweeten Haaland deal

CHELSEA are preparing to include Tammy Abraham as a makeweight in a big-money bid for Borussia Dortmund talisman Erling Haaland this summer, according to reports.

The Blues are believed to be keen admirers of the 20-year-old, who has established himself as one of the world’s best young players since joining the Bundesliga outfit in January of last year.

Haaland has scored 57 goals in just 59 appearances for Dortmund in all competitions, earning links to a number of Europe’s biggest clubs in the process.

The west London club are in desperate need of a top-class striker to lead the line in advance of a renewed Premier League title challenge next season.

Timo Werner has struggled to fire on all cylinders since joining from RB Leipzig last summer, while Olivier Giroud looks set to sign for AC Milan in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Abraham has fallen drastically out of favour under Thomas Tuchel despite finishing as the club’s joint-top scorer in all competitions last season.

A move for Haaland appears to have been prioritised by Chelsea, but Dortmund are said to value their man at around £150 million (RM825m), with their firm stance threatening to pour cold water on the possibility of a Stamford Bridge switch this summer.

However, the newly-crowned European champions are planning to mitigate this by including Abraham as part of a player-plus-cash deal, according to the Daily Mirror.

Despite Chelsea’s internal optimism over their newly-hatched plan, Haaland’s current employers are said to be hell-bent on keeping him at the Westfalenstadion for at least another season as they prepare to chase a first Bundesliga title in ten years.

Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke previously suggested that the forward will not leave the club under any circumstances this summer.

“I have the clear expectation that Erling Haaland will play for us next year,“Watzke told Sport Bild in May. “And I don’t waste any thoughts on anything else.” – Express Newspapers