Chelsea decided against moving for Manchester City-bound Erling Haaland after scouts due to one reason: Reports
Chelsea reportedly decided against making a move for Manchester City-bound Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland. As per reports from ESPN, the Blues' scouts had concerns if the Norway international's playing style would fit into the Premier League.
Manchester City have already announced that Haaland will be moving to the Etihad in the summer from Signal Iduna Park. The Sky Blues won the race for his signature, having triggered a bargain €60 million release clause in his Borussia Dortmund contract.
The Cityzens had to stave off competition from Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona for the 21-year-old's signature.
According to Metro, Chelsea even explored the opportunity to sign Haaland last summer before signing Romelu Lukaku for a club-record fee of over €113 million.
Manchester City can confirm that we have reached an agreement in principle with Borussia Dortmund for the transfer of striker Erling Haaland to the Club on 1st July 2022.
The transfer remains subject to the Club finalising terms with the player.
However, Borussia Dortmund were adamant of retaining the Norway international having lost Jadon Sancho to Manchester United.
ESPN claims that the Blues had their reservations as their scouts believed that he might find it difficult to adapt to life in the Premier League. They were of the opinion that Haaland thrives in the space afforded to him in the Bundesliga, which wouldn't be the case in England.
In the German top tier, most teams play a very high line with an attacking mentality which helps opponent attackers on the break.
In the Premier League, most teams have solid defenses and sometimes even defend in a low block, particularly against top teams like the Blues.
Will Chelsea regret not signing Erling Haaland?
Chelsea's decision not to sign Erling Haaland could come back to haunt them if the young striker lives up to expectations at Manchester City.
Regarded as one of the top players for the future, the Norwegian has everything in his locker to become an elite striker.
With the kind of resume Haaland already boasts, he is widely tipped to challenge for the Ballon d'Or in the years to come. The Norwegian has 85 goals and 23 assists in 88 appearances in all competitions for Borussia Dortmund.
I think we deserve to know what Chelsea scouts raised about Lukaku twitter.com/espnuk/status/…
Meanwhile, the West London club are struggling with two misfiring strikers in the form of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner.
With Haaland's quality, he could arguably succeed in any system under any manager. Even if he takes some time to adapt to life in England, he should eventually become a massive hit with Manchester City.
If he does, the Blues might regret their decision immensely.