Chelsea could be set to face more competition from Real Madrid in the pursuit of Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.
The Blues have been strongly linked with the Norwegian forward throughout the summer with Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel keen to bolster his forward line ahead of the 2021/22 season.
Haaland remains one of the club’s transfer priorities with reports recently suggesting that a bid has already been turned down by Dortmund that involved the part-exchange of either Tammy Abraham or Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Away from the blow of seeing their first offer rejected, Chelsea’s task in bringing Haaland to Stamford Bridge could now be even harder thanks to Premier League rivals Manchester United.
According to various reports, the Red Devils are closing in on the signing of Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane.
Previously linked with Chelsea, the Frenchman is out of contract at the Santiago Bernabeu and looks unlikely to pen a new deal with the Spanish giants, hence their preference to sell the defender this summer as opposed to losing him for free.
According to RMC Sport, as relayed by Sport Witness, the deal is great news for Los Blancos as it now gives them the funds to pursue Haaland or Kylian Mbappe this summer.
This could then see Chelsea presented with some serious competition in the race for the Norwegian and one that they could potentially lose with it previously having been reported that Madrid have already agreed personal terms with Haaland.
It remains to be seen whether Real will indeed target Haaland following confirmation of Varane’s move to Old Trafford but it would certainly give Thomas Tuchel something else to think about as he attempts to strengthen his attack.
It is expected that Dortmund are set to demand £150m for Haaland this summer, with the striker still having three years left to run on his contract at the Westfalenstadion.
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