Frank Lampard reveals he wanted to sign Erling Haaland during his first stint but the Chelsea board backed off
The interim Chelsea boss Frank Lampard revealed that he was keen to sign Erling Haaland in his previous stint at Stamford Bridge but the club board did not fancy it.
When Lampard was the permanent manager at Chelsea, Haaland was playing for Borussia Dortmund, having moved from RB Salzburg in January 2020.
As it turns out, the Norwegian superstar stayed at Dortmund till the end of last season before moving to Manchester City. What he has done this season for Pep Guardiola’s team is for everyone to see and admire.
Here’s what Lampard when he was asked about Haaland and how good he is (h/t Independent):
“I’ve got huge respect for him as a player, he’s a player I tried to bring to Chelsea the first time I was here.
“I was really keen to get him here but obviously that couldn’t happen. His level at that point was very clear, we played against him in a pre-season game for Salzburg.
“I think he’s special, I thought he’d adapt straight away just (because of) his level. I think with the level of players and his record of scoring, firstly in Austria then for his country and in the Bundesliga – which is not an easy league – to come into a really good unit already.
“From our point I was pushing it, I’m not sure what the appetite everywhere else in the club was to do it. The competition was big to take him because he was an outstanding player. I think there was a buyout clause at the time which I think was relatively reasonable given the player (he joined Dortmund for around £17million). I don’t have enough detail to say how close it was.”
Well, knowing that since Diego Costa left, which was five years ago, Chelsea have struggled to sign a striker who can score 20+ goals per season consistently, getting Haaland would have been so good.
Talk about 20, the former Salzburg marksman has crossed 40 in all competitions and should cross 50 before the end of his first campaign in English football. The amount of records he has broken is simply insane.
The one thing Chelsea have never been short of in all these years is the creation of chances. It has always felt like the team has to create five chances before someone puts the ball in the back of the net.
Had they got Haaland, not only his movements and physical presence would have scared the life out of defenders, his hunger for goals and demanding passes or crosses in the box would have stirred others in the team to involve him in the game as quickly as possible.
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- Charlie Adam believes Mauricio Pochettino could send Mykhaylo Mudryk out on loan
Although this is just hindsight now, it won’t be an overstatement to say that Chelsea would have won a couple of more trophies and been closer to Manchester City in the league had Lampard’s wish to sign Haaland been fulfilled during his previous stint at the club.
In his first season in England, the Norwegian has already shattered Mohamed Salah’s record for most goals in a single Premier League campaign. Surely, we should have had more foresight.