As Thomas Tuchel admitted Chelsea could go for Erling Haaland in the summer, Fiorentina star Vlahovic emerges as a possible replacement for the Norwegian striker at Borussia Dortmund.
“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,” Tuchel told SportBild, as quoted by Goal.com.
Tuchel explained Chelsea's interest in Haaland to SportBild recently saying that in the summer it was 'unrealistic and not at all feasible' but not ruling out signing him in future: https://t.co/AhU4xfBOKv #CFC
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) October 20, 2021
Chelsea signed Romelu Lukaku from Inter in a €115m deal last summer, but the German coach admitted the Premier League giants could make an attempt for Haaland anyway.
“You mean two at the top [with] Lukaku and Haaland? We can talk about it,” he said.
“I don’t think we’ve been really serious about it yet, but let’s see what will happen in the next few weeks.”
Haaland has a €75m release clause included in his contract from next summer.
Vlahovic’s representatives explain why they are not talking to Fiorentina
Scorer of 13 goals in 10 appearances across all competitions this season, the 21-year-old has been linked with a host of top clubs in Europe, including Real Madrid and PSG.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic is one of the candidates to replace Haaland if, as expected, he leaves Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season.
The Serbian forward won’t extend his contract expiring in June 2023 and Fiorentina are likely to sell in the summer.
La Viola rejected Atletico Madrid’s €60m for Vlahovic in the summer, even if the player had already reached an agreement with the La Liga giants. Therefore, the player decided not to extend his stay at the club beyond 2023.
He was insulted by a group of fans after the Tuscans’ 1-0 defeat against Venezia on Monday.
According to the report, Bayern Munich could also enter the race for Vlahovic and the same is true of Tottenham even if the Spurs’ director Fabio Paratici has played down reports linking the North London club with the 21-year-old.