Chelsea are interested in signing Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund this summer; plus where do Chelsea now stand on their reported long-term interest in West Ham midfielder Declan Rice?; follow January Deadline Day with our dedicated live blog and on Sky Sports News
Friday 29 January 2021 21:10, UK
On the latest Transfer Talk podcast, Dharmesh Sheth and Tom Williams discuss how Chelsea could land Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland and if he would be the right fit.
Sky Sports News reported earlier this week that Chelsea are interested in signing Haaland this summer, despite Real Madrid remaining the favourites to sign the 20-year-old Norway international.
Haaland is under contract at Dortmund until 2024 but it is understood the Bundesliga club could be tempted into selling the striker if they receive an offer greater than his €75m (£66m) release clause, which comes into action in the summer of 2022. Chelsea are one of very few clubs who will have that kind of money available to spend this summer.
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But would Haaland opt for a move to Stamford Bridge, with the option to work with new manager Thomas Tuchel? European football writer Tom Williams laid out just what Chelsea would need to be able to land one of football's most in-demand players.
He told the latest Transfer Talk podcast: "It's easy to see the appeal - moving to a big club like Chelsea, the glamour that comes with that, living in London. We know that Haaland is a fan of English football, his Dad [Alf-Inge Haaland] played over here and he grew up watching Leeds, Man City, Nottingham Forest and running round in their replica shirts.
"So there is feeling that he will end up here someday and his game would certainly be suited to English football. He has got the physique, he has got the pace, he has got the skills set, he's a freak of nature and it would be great to see him here.
"I think it will depend on two factors primarily. Firstly, can they offer him Champions League football because anything but that for Haaland would be a step back? He has had a taste of it with Dortmund and he's taking to it like a duck to water and he'll want to keep playing in the competition.
"And secondly, is he going to start in every game? You look at the competition for places at Chelsea with Olivier Giroud, Timo Werner, Tammy Abraham and we are still in the early days of Tuchel's reign, so we have no idea what the hierarchy will look like in a few months' time.
"I wrote a piece about Haaland last summer and spoke to people who know him and his family and they said the one thing that matters most to him is playing time. If he's going to leave Dortmund, it's going to have to be to a club where he's going to be the guy in the No 9 shirt and the first name on the teamsheet, no questions asked so that would clearly be a big a factor for him.
"Any club that can offer him that and Champions League football and he's happy with the lifestyle he'll have then they'll be a strong candidate for his signature.
"You also look at the profile of the modern striker, there aren't too many of them and with teams playing one up top, you need so many strings to your bow to do that effectively and Haaland has almost everything.
"You think back to Didier Drogba, for example, who was one of the best we've seen in terms of leading the line. You need to be able to bully two opposition centre-backs at once, you need a strong back to goal, be able to roll defenders, have pace to get in behind and be able to finish.
"Haaland has all of that and he can do it in a three, as part of a two or if he's the only man up there. I'd be surprised if there was a single manager in world football who wouldn't like the opportunity to work with him."
In terms of immediate incomings, the January transfer window closing on Monday and Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth says there's little sign of any new incomings for Tuchel.
He added: "There's nothing to suggest Chelsea will go into the market. Tuchel did say in his news conference this week that if a big opportunity did present itself then they would be foolish not to look into it.
"More likely is the big transfer will happen in the summer transfer window. By then, he would have enough time to decide who he wants to keep and doesn't want to keep. Every expectation is that he will be backed by Roman Abramovich because that's what he does. You can say what you like about sacking managers but he always seems to back them with big money.
"That being said, we had Rafa Honigstein on a few weeks ago and he questioned whether Dortmund would sanction a double departure of both Haaland and Jadon Sancho because the smart money in Germany is on Sancho being the one to leave this summer and to keep Haaland for another season."
One of the enduring transfer rumours of the Frank Lampard era was West Ham midfielder Declan Rice. The England international has previously played for Chelsea's youth teams and has a close friendship with Mason Mount.
However, with transfer plans likely to change under Tuchel, are Chelsea still expected to target Rice?
Sheth told the Transfer Talk podcast: "Publicly, West Ham have always said he's not going anywhere. Have a look a Declan Rice's contract - he's tied to West Ham until the summer of 2024 and the club have the option to extend that for a further year. They're simply under no pressure to sell him.
"But the talk just did not go away when Frank Lampard was in charge at Chelsea. Some talked about it being a done deal in the future, that it was inevitable that Rice was going to join with his childhood friend Mount.
"I think Lampard's sacking will have eased any worries West Ham fans might have had about a potential departure for Rice."
Williams also thinks West Ham is the right place for Rice's short-term development, but thoughts of a move elsewhere may be on the horizon.
He added: "The most important thing for a player like Rice and a player of his age is to be playing regularly. He's much better off playing every week for West Ham than sitting on the bench at Chelsea or Real Madrid or wherever.
"Having said that, the thought of Rice moving to a different club, it feels like he's approaching that stage of his career. He's an England international, he could well be a starter at the Euros this summer, he's already got 118 Premier League games behind him, proven he can play at the highest level and is emerging into a proven England international.
"It's natural that the players finding themselves in that sort of position at the age he is start to think 'what would Champions League football be like?' - you want to test yourself against those sorts of players. With the run that West Ham are going on at the moment, maybe they think Champions League qualification is a possibility for them this season, but I think at some point, if he continues on this current trajectory, that will be the conversation that he'll start having with himself and the people around him.
"In the short term, West Ham are having an excellent season and he's playing week in, week out. The doubts that there were about him a little while ago have started to dissipate, I think there are more people in football who really think he is the real deal so there's no hurry about which club he's going to go to next."
The winter transfer window is open until Monday February 1 at 11pm.
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