Chelsea are preparing to test Borussia Dortmund's resolve for striker Erling Haaland with an enormous bid worth around £135m.
As first revealed by 90min earlier this month, Chelsea are readying a monster offer for the 20-year-old, despite Dortmund's public insistence that they are not interested in listening to bids for Haaland this summer.
That has since been backed up by numerous other sources, one of which was Jan Aage Fjortoft, who has since stressed to ESPN that a 'fantasy bid' worth around £135m is set to arrive on Dortmund's desk soon.
"Chelsea have him as their main target," Fjortoft said. "They would like to test Dortmund with a fantasy offer, and a fantasy offer will be around €150m (£135m) - double what they can get for him next summer."
Sources confirmed to 90min earlier in July that Chelsea are keen to do business at around that £135m mark, which the Blues still believe is more than generous considering he will be available for closer to £65m next summer.
Chelsea know that there will be hefty agent fees to pay out to both Mino Raiola and Haaland's father, Alf-Inge, so they are keen to keep the transfer sum down if possible.
However, Dortmund don't particularly care what Chelsea want. They hope to keep Haaland this summer, although they are expected to listen to any offers of £150m, which may prove to be too much for Chelsea.
"It's interesting to follow, but most likely, he will stay with Dortmund," Fjortoft added. "Dortmund are saying all the time 'he will stay, he will stay'. They said that about [Jadon] Sancho one year ago and he stayed, so it is most likely that Haaland will still be a Dortmund player in this coming season, but we're waiting for that big, big offer from Chelsea."
If Haaland proves to be unattainable, Chelsea are expected to turn to two other expensive targets, Inter's Romelu Lukaku and Tottenham's Harry Kane.
The search is also on for cheaper alternatives, with towering Stuttgart forward Sasa Kalajdzic the latest man on the radar.
Source : 90min