Borussia Dortmund have rejected Chelsea’s opening transfer offer to sign Erling Braut Haaland, a report from Sky Germany claims.
The Blues are keen on recruiting an elite centre-forward this summer, and they have their sights on landing Haaland in a club-record deal.
Chelsea recently made an opening offer with Tammy Abraham or Callum Hudson-Odoi acting as a makeweight, but the proposal has been rejected.
Dortmund have no plans of parting ways with Haaland unless their €176 million valuation is met. The Blues are unlikely to pay the staggering fee.
Sportslens view:
The Blues misfired up front last season. Timo Werner and Abraham were the top scorers for the club, with just 12 goals across all competitions.
Abraham appears likely to leave the club soon, and the Blues were hoping to utilise his services to secure the big-money transfer of Haaland.
Dortmund could lose Haaland for just £68m (€80m) due to a buy-out clause on his contract that becomes active at the end of the 2021/22 season.
Despite this, they have placed a hefty price tag on his head this summer, and it appears likely that he will stay for the forthcoming campaign.
The Bundesliga outfit have the best chance to end Bayern Munich’s nine-year league dominance next season with Haaland leading the line.
The 20-year-old was in sensational form for the German giants last term, registering 41 goals and 12 assists from just 41 appearances in all competitions.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
Read: Five players Chelsea could offload to fund a deal for Erling Braut Haaland.
