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Good morning, Fear the Wall!
Chelsea FC have hired a former Borussia Dortmund manager, and may be aiming for a former Borussia Dortmund striker as well. According to Sky Sports, Chelsea are in the pole position to sign Erling Haaland, BVB’s 20-year-old star striker.
There doesn’t seem to be much to this rumor. I normally trust Sky to filter out the nonsense at least a little bit, but they hedge quite a bit in the article on it being strictly a possibility. The article also mentions that Chelsea could be preparing to sign David Alaba, which seems very unlikely considering the Bayern Munich defender has already reached a verbal agreement to join Real Madrid (according to The Guardian). Furthermore, Chelsea currently have three strikers on hand, including Timo Werner. Even though the former Leipzig striker hasn’t lived up to expectations at Stamford Bridge, he’s still been with the club for only a few months, and Chelsea may not want to give up on him given the transfer fee they paid for him.
Could it happen? Maybe. Could it be another example of journalists making up transfer rumors based off tenuous connections between players and managers sharing the same former club? Probably. Look at how many times BVB players have been linked to Liverpool because of Jurgen Klopp, and how many times the move has actually transpired.
Bayern Munich and Manchester United Battle for Dayot Upamecano
With David Alaba leaving Bayern Munich in the summer, Die Roten are looking for a replacement, and may have found it in RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano. However, according to Fabrizio Romano, Manchester United will be chasing him in the summer as well.
To be clear about Dayot Upamecano. No chances for him to leave RB Leipzing in the coming days, he’ll be sold next summer [release clause €42.5m]. Manchester United are *not* in talks to sign him in January. The race is open for next summer. #Leipzig #Upamecano #mufc
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 28, 2021
Upamecano is one of the best center backs in the Bundesliga, so it would be very good business for Bayern to swoop him up so soon after losing Alaba. The release clause of €42.5 million is very small for such a quality defender, so I’m sure these two clubs won’t be the only ones chasing after him.
The Daily Buzz (Thinking About Changing This to ‘Discord Argument of the Day’)
Super League: #yay or #nay?