Jase

I don't remember what Dortmund said exactly back then but you left out a key part here - Dembele went AWOL, boycotted training etc to force the move.

Yeah but the problem is we are still in the pandemic, meaning clubs are less inclined to spend and meaning we may have to settle with mostly loaning out players again this summer.

If anyone still believes Di Marzio...

Moses and Tomori are gone but aside from those, we still need to actually sell those players. Right now, it's all just talk of prices and no one seems to be making any move.

The FFP isn't relaxed to give clubs a free reign in the transfer market... https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jun/18/uefa-agree-to-suspend-financial-fair-play-rules-due-to-pandemic Otherwise, more clubs would have just gone BRR with it...

But it was still a pandemic season, he had some injuries and things went south under Lampard. Right or wrong, not sure if Marina sees it that way based on the price she puts on the other players.

There's the AFCON next January. I don't think he'll be sold this summer unless a club make an enticing offer for him. The club would probably want at least 40 million.

Yes, those players were willing to go abroad from English clubs but it also doesn't change the fact that circumstances played a part in that. Why do you think so many of the young players would be willing to go to the Bundesliga for example? Because clubs in Germany have a reputation of playing young players, academy players, giving them opportunities. Clubs in England generally don't do that, especially in the Premier League where there's too much at stake with the money etc. While there are success stories like Sancho and Bellingham, there are unsuccessful stories like Lookman, Ampadu and Smith-Rowe. Take Lookman for example. He went to Leipzig on loan in 2017/18, made 11 appearances. He was then bought by them in 2019, made 11 appearances but spent this past season on loan at Fulham.

That is true but it is still money lost at the end of the day. The point I was also trying to make there is if Dortmund keep hold of Haaland for at least another season, it would help boost their chances of qualifying for the Champions League again next season and maybe even do something in the Champions League itself. If that happens, then that would also guarantee they get as much money as possible. With Haaland and Sancho this past season, they almost didn't qualify for the Champions League. Imagine if they lose both in one go without having the time to find proper replacements. Given Dortmund are a decently run club, you would imagine Watzke and co. would have thought all these things through carefully. Mind you, it's also something that we did with Hazard. That is possible but we do not know what Haaland wants exactly, although there were previous reports that he favors a move to Real Madrid. Considering he seems like someone who likes challenges, one would think he would rather go to the Premier League or La Liga rather than stay in the Bundesliga with Bayern. On the other hand, from his perspective, if he is not sure about joining us, he can easily wait for another year and then have more clubs to choose from. Can even get more money through the wages. Would also be good financially from Raiola's perspective. But Dortmund's stance with Sancho last summer and Haaland this summer is different, no? Yes, they were somewhat open to selling Sancho last year but IIRC, they had set a price for him (think they mentioned it in the public and not just rumors?); either a club pay what we want or he stays. This year, they are willing to let him go and even negotiate the fee etc. But with Haaland, all year they have said he is staying with them. I know it could be the typical ploy of getting a club to come forward and seeing how much they are willing to offer but they have been consistent with their stance in the public. They have also not mentioned any sort of fee for him this summer apart from those rumored numbers. We would have to make a really batshit crazy offer for them to make a complete U-turn and another really batshit crazy offer to convince Haaland. Otherwise, it would just be another example of Dortmund's strong stance when it comes to selling their players.

True but it's the same thing either way - Dortmund selling their star player for less money a year later. Based on their stance with Sancho last summer and Haaland this year, would like to think they have weighed up the financial benefit and sporting benefit (e.g. qualifying for CL, winning a cup) by keeping a star player for another year. One could argue that it was Sancho's return to form this year that helped propel Dortmund into the Top 4 after their horrendous form under Favre and early on under Terzic.

They also did it with Sancho last summer TBF.

Guardian's story on Haaland... https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jun/08/dortmund-plan-to-keep-haaland-amid-Chelsea-interest-but-ready-to-sell-sancho Borussia Dortmund remain determined to keep Erling Haaland for another year despite Chelsea’s desire to sign the striker. ...A deal for Haaland, valued at more than £150m, will be extremely difficult to complete. Dortmund are adamant that the Norway international, who turns 21 next month, is going nowhere yet. The Bundesliga club are in a stronger position after qualifying for the Champions League and plan only one big sale. They will not stand in Jadon Sancho’s way if Manchester United, who are interested in the winger, meet their €90m (£77.5m) asking price for the England international. Dortmund demonstrated that they are not easy to push around when they refused to drop their asking price for Sancho amid interest from United last summer. Their plan is to keep Haaland for another season, with a transfer more likely next year. Another complication is the cost of signing Haaland. It is understood that Chelsea, who broke their transfer record when they signed Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen for £62m last summer, are reluctant to spend £150m on the forward. They would prefer to negotiate a lower fee for Haaland, whose agent, Mino Raiola, could seek wages of about £300,000 a week for his client. Barcelona and Real Madrid are unlikely to be able to afford Haaland. Chelsea have considered putting forward a swap deal involving Tammy Abraham, who is up for sale. However Dortmund are likely to insist on a straight fee for Haaland. Dortmund have been linked with another Chelsea youngster, Callum Hudson-Odoi. However it is understood that Hudson-Odoi is happy at Stamford Bridge and wants to fight for his place.

But the circumstances surrounding them are different, no? They were/are young and need game time to develop. If clubs in England - something that big clubs in England can't offer - then of course they would take the plunge to maybe go abroad and look for opportunities. I didn't say Trippier's move to Atletico and Tomori's move to Milan were bad. But it's also undeniable that in the former's case at least, his stock was low at Tottenham and Atletico offered him an escape route out of England to revive his fortunes.

Maybe but everyone has their own preference. Some may choose to take the plunge while some may not.

£350-400k might not seem a lot for one player but wait till we get a bunch of others in the future asking for similar wages. It's happened before during the JT/Lampard era. The money wasn't that much but we definitely had the issue. From our perspective, we would want to try and get him now. But from his perspective, he can wait till next summer if he wants to, have a bunch of club to choose from and have them try to outbid one another when it comes to wages etc.

Sancho and Bellingham chose to go because it was Dortmund who came calling while they were in still City's academy and Birmingham respectively. Trippier, Smalling and Young didn't have many options in England when their stock was rather down at Spurs and United respectively. Can't remember if there were other sides interested in Tomori but it was Milan and he had Maldini to convince him.

Even if we buy him now, it would mean blowing our wage structure already, which will cause problems down the line with the other players.

Who knows? How many English players have decided to go play abroad? Not many. A lot prefer to play in their own league in England while getting stay close to the family etc. Moreover, if clubs like Villa and West Ham show ambition to get into Europe at the very least - e.g. Europa League - it would hardly be astonishing if Abraham is okay with that. He can also bide his time, improve his game and then wait/hope for a big club to come calling, just like he probably would if he goes to Dortmund anyway.

Times is saying that and then Guardian is saying CHO is happy and wants to fight for his place here. Go figure...

But what if Abraham doesn't want to go to Germany?

I know it's Haaland and I know he's a striker and you could say we need a striker but at the same time, there's also an element of "we need to buy him because he's the shiniest toy out there" to this. Last summer, it was Havertz. This time Haaland. Next year, Mbappe? There seems to be little thought given to the squad building here and the club, including Roman, just want to buy every shiny toy out there. While Haaland's position is at least obvious, I'd argue that we are still trying to figure out Havertz. Like, what is his best position? Is he a False 9? Is he an attacking midfielder? Is he a #10?

Full article... Erling Haaland is believed to be interested in a move to Chelsea if the European champions can find a way of negotiating a deal with Borussia Dortmund – either for this summer or next. Telegraph Sport reported on Monday that Chelsea have not abandoned their interest in Haaland, despite Dortmund’s insistence the striker is not for sale this summer. It is understood that Chelsea are not only exploring the possibility of trying to sign Haaland this year, but also of setting up an agreement for next year if Dortmund remain determined to keep him for another 12 months. Chelsea have a good relationship with Dortmund from the deal that saw Christian Pulisic move to London in a transfer that was negotiated in January 2019 for him to join in the summer of that year. Whether or not it would be possible to come to a similar arrangement over Haaland if Dortmund will not agree to any deal this summer remains to be seen. That may also rest on whether or not Chelsea can sign a different big-name striker this summer if Dortmund refuse to let Haaland go this year, but their choices appear limited. A deal to sign Haaland would cost over £150 million this summer, but the Norwegian is reported to have a release clause in his Dortmund contract that would allow him to leave for between £65m and £86m next year. Currently only Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United would be able to afford to sign Haaland this summer, but Real Madrid are thought to be hoping he stays at Dortmund one more year so they can make an offer in 12 months. That has persuaded Chelsea to try to find out whether or not any deal can be set up for now or in the future for Haaland, who is thought to be attracted by the prospect of a move to Stamford Bridge. Whether or not Chelsea would be his preferred destination if City, United and Real Madrid all at some stage made bids is not known. But Chelsea feel optimistic enough about their chances not to have abandoned their interest and have also attempted to find out whether or not Dortmund would be interested in Tammy Abraham. The fact Chelsea are pursuing Haaland does not mean that they have turned away from Romelu Lukaku, who last week insisted he will stay at Inter Milan. Chelsea want to sign a new striker and currently have a number of balls in the air with City also in the market for a replacement for Sergio Agüero. Should City sign Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur, then Chelsea could get a free run at Haaland and Lukaku while other clubs, including Real, are hamstrung by the financial impact of the coronavirus. While United are interested in Haaland and Kane, their priority is to sign a wide player with Jadon Sancho their number one target and Dortmund ready to sell the England winger.

For the love of god, can we please only share updates from actual journalists (reliable or not) and not some Tom, Dick and Harry? Gonna have to start deleting nonsense posts at this rate...

Yup, have been doing that. 🤣 A free way to bypass their bloody paywall!