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Jude Bellingham is a dynamite midfielder whose star has been on the rise for some time now.
He is already drawing comparisons to some of England's all-time greats with his maturity and
understanding for the game at such a young age. The 19-year-old finds himself at the centre of
everything club and country are trying to do, whether it’s tracking back to help out in defence,
kick-starting counterattacks or making late runs into the box to fire home. A move home to the
Premier League from German club Borussia Dortmund seems inevitable at this point but the
answer of when and where is less apparent.
There is still plenty of interest from clubs across
England’s top flight despite Liverpool pulling the youngster from their priority list, but the
chances of Real Madrid swooping in or Dortmund keeping him on the books for another year
are growing by the day. Bellingham is a superstar in high demand amongst Europe’s elite,
leaving the Englishman a lot to weigh up before the summer transfer window opens at the end
of the season. So just who is going to be the one to land the prized signature of one of Europe’s
hottest prospects? Here’s a look at the leading candidates.
Borussia Dortmund
The path of least resistance for Bellingham is to stay put and it’s not as unattractive a decision
as you might think. For one thing the club has a habit of producing and developing mercurial
talents and it could provide a better arena to hone his skills some more before taking a chance
on an unknown entity. Furthermore, it gives him a bit more time to mull over what will ultimately
be the biggest life-changing decision he is ever likely to face in his career.
But most importantly of all, Dortmund are enjoying a stellar season domestically and the chances of knocking Der
FCB off their perch are better than they ever have been. It’s true that Bayern Munich have
established a monopoly on the Bundesliga in the last decade but this season has demonstrated
there are kinks in that once resolute armour. The Bavarian club are leading the pack at the
moment but for large portions of the season they have been chasing, and their slender lead of
two points looks shaky at best, leaving the title well and truly in the balance for the first time in
recent memory.
Even if they did manage to hold on for their 11th Bundesliga crown in a row,
Bayern’s unwavering domination of the league appears to be coming to an end and should that
be the case, then what better reason to stick around than for a chance at toppling Munich’s
empire and a title race that is no longer a foregone conclusion?
Manchester City
There are plenty of options on Bellingham’s table right now but the lure of a big money move to
the blue half of Manchester and the chance to work with Pep Guardiola could be the most
appealing as of this moment. City are at it again in the Premier League title race, putting
together a string of results in the run-in that have their championship rivals quaking in their
boots and making it look like child’s play. They are similarly positioned in European competition
too,
breezing past Bayern Munich to set up a repeat semi-final showdown with Real Madrid who
are looking to defend their crown.
Their squad is littered with world-class talent, their training
facilities are state of the art, and with a further expansion of their stadium planned there is a real
argument to suggest they are THE destination for the world’s best players. To add to that, they
are one of a very small list of candidates who could actually afford the rumoured fee of £135
million that Dortmund will be asking for this summer to pry the youngster away from
Westfallenstadion. Former Dortmund teammates Erling Haaland and Manuel Akanji have
already made the jump and it’s only reasonable to think the two clubs could once again do
business over Bellingham.
Real Madrid
Madrid fans will have been singing in the streets at the news that Liverpool have withdrawn from
the race for Bellingham. Bellingham is currently 3/1 on to join Real Madrid this summer on the
best
licensed betting sites. If Bellingham wants to fulfil his full potential as one of the best
midfielders on the planet, there is no better place to end up than the Bernabeu. Los Blancos
have been gradually regenerating their midfield in recent years, and Bellingham could follow in
the footsteps of Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni to make theirs one of the most
feared in all of Europe. On top of that the club has a habit of developing Ballon d’Or worthy
talents and in an environment like that, Bellingham is sure to flourish.
Even if he underperformed in the Spanish capital he would still likely have the same Premier League
options available to him after his tenure with the 14-time Champions League winners. The
futures of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos could yet put pain to any potential hopes of a move and it
is also unknown if the club are willing to splash their €150 million limit on obtaining the
Englishman’s services, but if the Birmingham-born midfielder wants to remain abroad and test
himself with a new challenge, this is the only real option.
Manchester United
Erik Ten Hag will be preparing for a big summer in the coming weeks and is known to be in the
market for midfielders, and Bellingham will no doubt strengthen that midfield. The signings of
Casemiro and Christian Eriksen certainly helped the Dutchman but there is still work to be done
and on the flip side United are a much more attractive prospect to Bellingham since the
manager’s arrival with the possibility of new owners increasing the chances of a landmark
signing in the form of the Birmingham boy.
Having said all that, the deal is in the balance and
the chances of the youngster heading to Old Trafford rely almost exclusively on that new owner
arriving through the door because the Glazers simply won’t be willing to invest the level of
money required to sign the midfielder. They’re outsiders and there’s still a very slim chance but
it is far from the most likely option, United aren’t even the most likely option in Manchester.
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Jude Bellingham profile