Chelsea shouldn’t sign Erling Haaland if it means losing Tammy Abraham
Sometimes in writing, if a writer does not get to the point quick enough, the audience completely tunes out. After reading a headline as controversial as this one, the loyal readers of theprideoflondon.com and other Chelsea supporters undoubtedly want to hear how I justify my stance. Therefore, let’s not waste anymore time as we dive head first into the latest rumors surrounding the club’s striking unit, some background behind them and my take on things.
Early Tuesday morning, The Athletic reported that Tammy Abraham was not interested in renewing his contract with the Blues given the club’s pursuit of Dortmund wunderkind Erling Braut Haaland. Simply put, Chelsea cannot allow another talented young star to walk away from Stamford Bridge. The Blues should make Abraham their top priority and if that means abandoning the love affair with Haaland, so be it.
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Let me make one thing clear right off the bat: Haaland is a generational talent. He sits alongside Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe as the future of the world’s game. There is nobody quite like the two aforementioned young superstars, as they would walk into any side in the world with ease and every club on Earth dreams of employing them. There is only one “issue” with players of this caliber: they crave the brightest lights on the biggest stage.
Fans of Premier League clubs can play pretend all they want, but the fact of the matter is, no team in England can compete with the Spanish giants for the title of biggest club on the planet—Real Madrid and Barcelona are kings. Trailing behind them ever so slightly is England’s big six, Bayern Munich, PSG and Juventus. The gap is slight, but still present. Why does any of this matter though? How does it relate to Chelsea and Abraham? Allow me to explain.
Haaland’s agent, the infamous Mino Raiola, recently spoke out about the striker’s future. In doing so, he noted that there are about 10 clubs worldwide that could currently afford Haaland, four of which are in England. That leaves six other clubs. The five aforementioned European clubs certainly make up that list. We’re not going to waste time chasing shadows and trying to guess the mystery sixth club. The fact of the matter is, Haaland’s long-term future is with one of these other European clubs, likely Real Madrid or Barcelona. If the Blues were to secure his signature this summer, he would probably only stick around for two or three years and then they’d be right back to square one.
That’s where Abraham comes in.
There’s no denying that Abraham isn’t on the same level as Haaland—only Mbappe is—but that doesn’t mean Abraham doesn’t have the potential to be a world class striker. If Chelsea’s history tells us anything, it’s that he’s far more likely to succeed than not. If the Blues allow the English No. 9 to walk just so they can get a few years out of Haaland, it’d be a mistake. This situation is shockingly similar to when Chelsea let Romelu Lukaku go to Everton, instead electing to get a few good years out of Diego Costa. The move for Costa was wildly successful, but here we are, still longing for a world class striker almost four years later. Costa was a short-lived, immediate success; Lukaku would’ve brought longevity.
Should the Blues decide to put their faith in their X factor, Abraham will repay them with his loyalty. The 23-year-old has spent nearly his entire life at the club and is already a rising star. He’s appeared in 80 matches for Chelsea, finding the back of the net 30 times and adding 12 assists. Abraham makes those around him better, as well. Although he may not be bagging goals at Haaland’s pace, he’s still deserving of his starting role with the Blues. Abraham is destined for greatness, let’s just hope it’s in west London and not at another Premier League club.
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If there is a way in which Chelsea can employ both Haaland and Abraham, that is the best case scenario. However, this unfortunately isn’t FIFA and it’d be nearly impossible to keep two young stars happy. In this particular situation, it’d be wise for the Blues to choose Abraham over Haaland.