Erling Haaland has been in the headlines for all the right reasons over the past week or so.

Last Wednesday evening, the Borussia Dortmund striker reminded everybody why he's one of the most sought-after players in the world.

Haaland scored twice and claimed an assist in a 3-2 win away at Sevilla in the Champions League.

The Norwegian prodigy then followed up that stunning performance with another masterclass against rivals Schalke on the weekend.

He netted two more goals in a convincing 4-0 win for Dortmund and one of them was an incredible scissor-kick finish from the edge of the box.

The 20-year-old is unbelievably talented and Europe's elite are poised to battle it out for his coveted signature this summer.

Given that his €75m release clause at Dortmund doesn't become active until the summer of 2022, Haaland is certainly not going to be cheap to acquire at the end of the season.

However, that's not stopped Chelsea from making progress behind-the-scenes in their bid to sign the wonder-kid.

As reported by Dean Jones for Eurosport, Thomas Tuchel's side are becoming 'increasingly hopeful' of landing what would be one of the club's biggest ever signings.

The Blues are desperate to secure the arrival of a world-class striker, as both Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham are not viewed as long-term solutions up top.

That's seen Chelsea step up their pursuit of Haaland and the club believe they're making progress in convincing him to move to Stamford Bridge in the near future.

Of course, their hopes will be dashed if the Blues fail to qualify for next season's Champions League and they will still face strong competition from Manchester City in the race for Haaland's signature.

However, if Chelsea do finish in the top four this season, it sounds as if there's a significant chance of the Norwegian donning the famous blue shirt in 2021/22.

If that does happen, Tuchel's side will be a force to be reckoned with.