The chase for Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham is on, and several top European clubs want him. Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea are interested in the 19-year-old.
Bellingham has established himself as one of the finest midfield prospects with his performances for club and country.
He broke through at Birmingham City before a £25 million move to Dortmund when he was barely 17. In Germany, Bellingham’s potential would shine as he continued his development.
Bellingham is now one of the club’s captains and a talisman for his side. This season, he has scored three goals and assisted two more in the Bundesliga. In the Champions League, he has four goals and one assist.
His impressive form put him on England manager Gareth Southgate’s list for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Bellingham was one of the best young players at the tournament in Qatar. He put in fine performances that established what many German football watchers knew. Bellingham has the talent and character to head to the very top.
Following Bellingham’s development and impressive performances this season, Liverpool want him. The FA Cup champions need midfield reinforcement and have identified him as a target.
Despite the competition, it looks like Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp has an advantage over other clubs. According to Jan Aage Fjortoft, Klopp still has friendly ties to his former club. His friendship with the club will give Liverpool an advantage.
Klopp is a hero at Dortmund, where he spent seven years, winning the Bundesliga twice and the DFB Pokal once. He also guided the club to the Champions League and won the DFL Super Cup twice.
Klopp’s legendary status with BVB could help Liverpool get the player ahead of other clubs.
Another club pushing for Bellingham is Real Madrid. The 14-time UEFA Champions League winners will prioritise him as their top target this summer. Los Blancos want him to arrive now and spend at least a year learning under Luka Modric.
The problem is that they do not want to meet Borussia Dortmund’s valuation of their star man. Dortmund want around €150 million for the Englishman, while the Spanish club only wants to go as high as €120 million.
The La Liga champions have sounded Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez as an alternative if they can’t get their top target. Ironically, Liverpool also have Fernandez as their backup target if they miss out on Bellingham.
Chelsea are far behind in the race for Bellingham and have switched focus to Fernandez.
Dortmund will hope the interested parties enter a bidding war for their midfielder this summer. They want to recoup as much as six times their initial investment in the Englishman.
Dortmund will encourage the clubs into a transfer battle, but Klopp might have an ace up his sleeves.
