Dortmund 'identify Chelsea forward Werner as potential successor to Haaland'

Borussia Dortmund have reportedly lined up Chelsea's Timo Werner as a potential replacement for Erling Haaland if he leaves next summer.

Haaland, who scored in Dortmund's 2-1 win against Besiktas on Wednesday night, reportedly has a £68m release clause active from next summer and the Norwegian 21-year-old is set to be in-demand as a result of his prolific goalscoring form.

As such, Dortmund executive Michael Zorc is already identifying potential successors and German outlet SportBild state that Chelsea forward Werner is one of the candidates to replace Haaland.

The report details that Werner, who only moved to Chelsea last summer, is a 'surprising solution' for Dortmund.

However, with Werner said to be on a salary of around £17m-a-year, a pay-cut would be necessary for him to move to the Westfalenstadion.

Bayern Munich have also been linked with the Germany international, who has been bumped down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge following Romelu Lukaku's arrival.

Haaland has started this season in terrific form, scored nine goals in seven appearances in all competitions.

Werner did not come off the bench in the 1-0 win against Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday and has only played nine minutes of football since Lukaku's return to the club from Inter.

Werner signed for the Blues for around £50m in 2020, but endured a tough first season in the Premier League, scoring just six goals in 35 appearances.

He did play a major role however in Chelsea's Champions League triumph under Thomas Tuchel, starting in the final win against Manchester City.