Thomas Tuchel has admitted that Chelsea held a strong interest in signing Norway star striker Erling Haaland this summer from Borussia Dortmund.
Haaland had been rumoured to be one of the top names on the shopping list for the west London giants but a deal could not be reached with Dortmund who remained persistent on their pricing demands for Haaland’s sale to the Premier League.
Tuchel instead pushed for talks with Inter Milan to bring in Romelu Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge in a mega-money transfer to add some much-needed firepower in the attacking roster for the Blues.
Lukaku, despite his recent struggles in front of the goal, has proven to be a pivotal figure for Chelsea and could be a hit signing for the club who splashed major cash for his return to England’s top flight.
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Speaking to German news outlet SportBILD ( via football.london), the Blues boss Tuchel admitted that he had an interest in snapping up Haaland’s signature from Dortmund but the deal did not seem feasible for Chelsea who eventually pulled the plug.
“We talked about Erling Haaland a couple of times, including during the transfer window. But then it seemed absolutely unrealistic and not at all feasible.
“We talk about him regularly, of course, because he’s a fantastic player and clearly the defining figure at Dortmund, who is a big rival for us in the Champions League.”
