Report: Dortmund eye Chelsea target to replace Haaland

Chelsea target Hugo Ekitike tipped to replace Erling Haaland at Borussia Dortmund

According to football.london, Hugo Ekitike, a Chelsea target, has been approached by Borussia Dortmund to replace Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker is set to join Manchester City this summer and the Bundesliga club is seeking a successor.

Following a great season for Stade Reims, Ekitike is drawing interest from several prominent European clubs. This season, the 19-year-old has scored 10 goals across 25 appearances in all competitions for the French club. His numbers dwarf that of Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic, and Hakim Ziyech this season.

Since his professional debut in 2020, the 6ft 2ins striker has progressed quickly. He started his career with Cormontreuil FC before joining the Reims junior system in 2013. Ekitike made his Reims debut in a 3-1 loss to FC Lorient in October 2020 after coming through the club’s development squad.

He was loaned out to Danish Superliga club Vejle Boldklub for the rest of the season in January 2021, where he scored three goals in 11 games. Now his current season back home has earned him a potential ticket to the German Bundesliga.

Can Chelsea sign him?

According to early reports, our Premier League rivals Manchester United and Arsenal, as well as Newcastle United, are all interested in the teenager. The German giants’ interest would make things more difficult for us. Dortmund is a good destination for young players seeking to make it big.

The Blues have been working to find an answer to the concerns in the attack this season. We brought in tLukaku, who had a fantastic season with Inter Milan last year. However, he was unable to reproduce his form from Italy. We’ve seen him struggle all season to get back to his best and cement his spot in the starting lineup. Warner and Havertz have also struggled while Hudson-Odoi has been injured for quite some time.

With the backing of the new potential owner, who would be ready to make big investments to develop the team for next season, we would expect a new signing coming up this summer transfer window. But we need to make sure we figure out what we are going to do with the current options for the striker’s role.

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Ekitike could be an excellent investment for Chelsea given his age profile and promise. It would be wise to consider a long-term project rather than replacing strikers every year. The 19-year-old has plenty of promise and it remains to be seen if Chelsea can make a late punt to land him.