Chelsea's aspirations of signing Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland this summer have been dealt a major blow.
The Norway international, who has been in formidable form this season for the German heavyweights, has narrowed his next destination down to six possible clubs, but the Blues are not included on that list.
That is according to a report by German outlet Sport Bild, who claim the Dortmund ace has cut both Chelsea and Bayern Munich from his shortlist, narrowing his potential options down to half-a-dozen.
The clubs in question are reported to be Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus.
The 20-year-old, who has scored 33 goals in 31 matches for club and country this season, is poised to be the biggest talking point of this forthcoming summer's transfer window, with a series of clubs looking to potentially pounce on Dortmund's financial struggles and sign one of the world's most exciting talents.
Dortmund face the prospect of having to offload several of their big-name stars this summer if they miss out on qualifying for next season's UEFA Champions League. That is because the German outfit have lost masses of revenue because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has stopped fans from being able to attend matches and get the turnstiles moving.
Should they fail to qualify for European club football's top competition, Dortmund will have to cut their cloth to cover their losses that could have been covered by qualifying for the tournament.
As for Haaland's future, he does have a release clause of £66million in his contract but that does not become active until the summer of 2022, meaning any club looking to sign him this summer will have to spend around £100million to stand any chance of concluding a deal.
According to Bild's report, Haaland only wishes to join 'an absolute top club,' suggesting Chelsea do not fall under that umbrella in the eyes of the youngster.
For Thomas Tuchel, this news could force him to go back to the drawing board as far his transfer plans are concerned, as he had earmarked the Dortmund sensation as his top target for the upcoming summer window. The German saw Haaland as the ideal figure to spearhead his attacking line and try and turn the Blues back into Premier League title contenders.
It is claimed that Haaland is an admirer of Real Madrid's 'charisma and strength' and could be seen as the perfect candidate to replace Karim Benzema, who is now at the age of 33.
Since joining Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in January last year, Haaland's career has only been heading in one direction, scoring a staggering 43 goals in 45 appearances for the club so far, as well as chipping in with 11 assists.
