Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has made it clear that striker Erling Haaland will not be leaving the club this summer, insisting he will remain with the Bundesliga giants next season.
Haaland, who has been nothing short of outstanding for Dortmund this season, has been the subject of widespread transfer interest in recent weeks from a whole host of clubs right across Europe.
Amongst them are English trio Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United, as well as interest surfacing from both Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Considering Haaland has scored a whopping 37 goals in 38 games this season, it is no surprise to anybody that interest in his signature is rife.
Considering he is hitting the numbers that he is doing at the age of just 20-years-old, it is frightening to think just how good he could become in years that lie ahead.
Although a move away from the Westfalenstadion should not be ruled out in the long-term, an exit this summer now appears to be increasingly unlikely, with Watzke revealing that he has spoken with Mino Raiola - Haaland's agent - and that there are no concerns over his immediate future.
Speaking to Sport1, Watzke said: "I've known Raiola for a long time and get along well with him. It's no problem for us.
"Erling Haaland will remain a Borussia Dortmund player next year."
This news will be a major hammer-blow for Chelsea as they had set their sights on Haaland being their top target this summer.
The Norwegian international had been sounded out as the player Thomas Tuchel wanted to spearhead his forward line, with Timo Werner continuing to falter in his maiden season in England.
However, Chelsea could now be forced to look elsewhere in the striker search this summer, with the likes of Manchester City's Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan ace Romelu Lukaku all being linked with moves to Stamford Bridge.
Of those three aforementioned players, you would say that Chelsea have the best possible chance of landing Aguero, with him set to be available on a free transfer. Kane and Lukaku, meanwhile, would command massive transfer fees and Chelsea could struggle to land either of them due to Kane playing for a direct rival and Lukaku's previous spell at Stamford Bridge having not gone according to plan.
