Chelsea star rejects Premier League interest, 28-year-old could leave for free this summer and more: Fabrizio Romano Exclusive
The situation is starting to get tense around Erling Haaland, the Borussia Dortmund star who continues to score goals in every match, regardless of whether it's the Bundesliga or the UEFA Champions League. "The club started putting pressure on me," Haaland revealed a few days ago. The player has very clear ideas - he wants to focus on football at the moment and does not want to think about his next club until April or May. Towards the end of the season, he will evaluate the best choice depending on the technical project, economical offer, manager to work with and many other factors.
Haaland wants to decide his next club among the many candidates, from Real Madrid - who also work on Kylian Mbappé every single day - to Barcelona, given the relations between Mino Raiola and president Joan Laporta. Manchester City will also buy a top striker in the summer, so they should not be forgotten, while a surprise could also emerge in the form of Paris Saint-Germain. Haaland only wants to think about Borussia Dortmund until May and then make a choice about the future at the end of the season.
Dortmund, however, are pushing for an immediate decision and want to know if he will stay for another season or leave the club in the summer? Haaland does not like the situation but knows that it will soon be time to make a choice. It is important to clarify that neither side is planning a departure in January, but Dortmund want to prepare to eventually be able to focus on targets for the summer, especially Karim Adeyemi of RB Salzburg.
The player's decision will be very important for his career, so he will evaluate everything carefully along with his father Alfie and agent Raiola, who have both been very important in Haaland's professional career so far.
Borussia director Zorc: “Haaland's comments surprised us a bit. There is no deadline and there have not even been any talks yet. But we want to hold talks at some point”, he told Kicker. 🟡 #BVB
The release clause will be available for almost €80m plus [commissions] #Haaland
Paulo Dybala's situation with Juventus is also very dangerous. The Argentinian is currently out of contract in June 2022 but his situation is very peculiar. Since October, Dybala has had a verbal agreement with Juventus to extend his contract until June 2026 with a salary of €10 million net per season including bonuses. Everything was ready, he was only waiting for the arrival of his agent Jorge Antun in Italy to sign and announce the extension of the agreement.
And then? Juventus asked Dybala for time just before Christmas and scheduled a new meeting to discuss his contract in late February or early March. Dybala did not like that the club's plans changed suddenly - he has been visibly irritated even on the pitch in the last few games.
The club want to change the conditions of the contract they agreed with Dybala earlier. Juventus do not want to give him a five-year deal and more importantly, they certainly do not want to offer him a salary of €10 million per season. Dybala is expecting a definitive answer from Juventus and has not excluded the possibility of considering other offers as a free agent in the coming months. He may be yet another star available for free at the end of the season along with with players like Kylian Mbappé, Paul Pogba, Ousmane Dembélé and many others.
Chelsea wait for Christensen's decision as European giants circle
Pay close attention to the future of Andreas Christensen. The defender was close to signing a new contract with Chelsea last August and the club considered it a deal completed, with the Danish defender expected in the club's offices to sign a long-term agreement. Christensen, however, chose to take time and Chelsea did not like it. His current agreement expires in June 2022 and although there is still an offer on the table, Chelsea do not intend to improve it because it has already been agreed since August.
Now, Christensen has started exploring the market because so many clubs are taking an interest. The rumors about Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are real, but Barcelona and FC Bayern Munich are the two clubs ahead in the race for Christensen, as long as he leaves Chelsea as a free agent because the final decision has not yet been made.
The race is, therefore, very open. Barça and Bayern are strongly interested, but Chelsea retain hope that Christensen will accept the deal that's currently on the table for him. More than one Premier League club approached Christensen, but the feeling is the player will not consider proposals from England out of respect for Chelsea. The Danish defender represents a great opportunity in the transfer market and it remains to be seen what his final decision will be.
#CFC
#CFC
More about Andreas Christensen. Also Premier League clubs approached him as potential free agent signing - but Christensen wants to respect Chelsea, he’s not gonna consider any English club proposal. 🔵🚫 #CFC
Barcelona and FC Bayern, leading the race. Decision to be made soon. twitter.com/fabrizioromano…
Finally, there is no chance Lille defender Sven Botman will be allowed to leave the club in January. President Olivier Letang personally decided to decline offers from Newcastle in January, while AC Milan have put him on the list for next summer. A €40 million January bid from the Magpies wasn't enough to change Letang's mind and so, Botman will be one of the top names for the 2022 summer transfer window.