Former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has claimed that he wanted to sign Manchester City star striker Erling Haaland while in charge at Stamford Bridge. It comes as the current Everton boss prepares to face off against the Norwegian talisman in their next Premier League clash.
Haaland has become a feared player for many since joining City in the summer from Borussia Dortmund, already hitting 20 Premier League goals in just 14 appearances - the quickest anyone in the era of the new top division has reached such a target. It truly begs the question of just how many he can bag this season as a whole.
Alan Shearer believes that he can hit as many as 40 goals this season, while Haaland refused to answer on whether he had a target to hit. He told Amazon Prime: "I got one but I cannot say. You know this.”
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It has left others to think what could have been if they landed the 22-year-old from Borussia Dortmund over their Premier League rivals. One of those will be Chelsea, who haven't been able to land a consistent No.9 in years at Stamford Bridge to help them score goals.
It may sting more to know that former boss Lampard recently revealed that he tried to sign Haaland for the club in his tenure as manager too. He told reporters ahead of Everton's clash with Man City: "He is an amazing player and the ultimate top level players generally can do what he does in a top level league. I coached against him in a pre-season game when he was playing for Salzburg. I tried to sign him for Chelsea and it was not to be.
"It was clear in our pre-match preparation what this boy was. Fair play to him. We are going against him and I respect those at the top of their game. I watched the World Cup final with [Kylian] Mbappe and [Lionel] Messi and Haaland has got himself in that bracket at a very young age."
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