Chelsea shirt numbers Erling Haaland could wear after ‘personal terms agreed’

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Chelsea have moved closer to signing Erling Haaland after reports suggested that the Blues have reportedly agreed personal terms with the Norwegian.

A deal remains quite a way off until Chelsea can agree a fee with Borussia Dortmund for the striker.

Boss Thomas Tuchel is eyeing a forward this summer having lacked a clinical finisher during his first six months in charge.

The German replaced Frank Lampard in January and his squad have shared the goals around.

Despite all seven of his goals being penalties, midfielder Jorginho ended the Premier League campaign as the club’s top scorer.

Timo Werner, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham scored six each, although the latter’s goals all came under Lampard.

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Chelsea appear to have made Haaland their top priority this summer with a view to signing a natural goalscorer to help them better challenge Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool for the Premier League title.

And recent reports suggest that Haaland has already agreed personal terms with the Blues.

The Norwegian scored 27 goals in 28 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund this season.

His form has made him one of the hottest properties in Europe.

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Haaland has been the subject of a Chelsea bid in the region of £60million plus Abraham, according to Italian-based journalist Ekrem Konur.

Chelsea value Abraham at around £40m, meaning that the deal would be the equaivalent of around £100m. 

Dortmund have apparently not responded to the offer. They instead want closer to £150m. 

However, Express Sport looks at four numbers Haaland could take if he joins Chelsea this summer.

Number 8

Ross Barkley wears the number made famous at Chelsea by Frank Lampard.

Tuchel’s predecessor as the Blues boss is the club’s highest-ever scorer with 211 goals in 648 appearances between 2001 and 2014.

It would be quite fitting if Haaland were to attempt to break Lampard’s record in the same shirt.

Barkley, who is likely to move on this summer following a frustrating loan at Aston Villa, could be moved aside if Haaland wants the number. 

Other previous Chelsea No 8s include Oscar, Gus Poyet and Mark Hughes.

Number 9

Technically not vacant either but it could be if the rumoured terms of the current deal continue to develop.

Abraham has worn the Chelsea No 9 since the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign but has reportedly been offered to Dortmund in exchange for Haaland.

Abraham has struggled to fit into Tuchel’s plans and has scored just once under the German – in an FA Cup tie against Barnsley.

He failed to even make the squad for the final against Leicester City and each of his league goals came under Lampard.

The No 9 shirt at Chelsea is not quite as famed as it is at other clubs.

Previous owners of the number have included Gonzalo Higuain, Alvaro Morata, Fernando Torres, Franco Di Santo, Steve Sidwell and, bizarrely, defender Khalid Boulahrouz.

Number 14

Fikayo Tomori is the current incumbent of the No 14 but he too may depart Chelsea this summer.

The defender spent the second half of last season enjoying a fruitful loan spell at Inter Milan, where he made 17 league games for the Serie A runners-up.

Fourteen is best known among Premier League fans for being donned by Thierry Henry for the duration of his eight-year first spell at Arsenal.

Not quite such a successful digit at Chelsea, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Andre Schurrle and Claudio Pizarro would be Haaland’s predecessors if he takes 14.

Number 30

Chelsea’s sizeable squad makes finding low numbers hard to come by. In addition, the Blues have unofficially retired the No 25 and No 26 since the departures of Gianfranco Zola (2003) and John Terry (2017)

Haaland might opt for 30 having previously worn the shirt at RB Salzburg.

His Salzburg legacy is 29 goals in 27 appearances before securing a £17m move to Dortmund in January 2020.

By taking 30 at Chelsea, he would be following in the footsteps of David Luiz, Yossi Benayoun and, slightly further back, Tiago Mendes.
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