Attracting Jude Bellingham to Stamford Bridge will be a tough task for Chelsea, especially as they languish in mid-table in the Premier League. The 19-year-old is one of the biggest transfer targets for the Blues heading into 2023 and made waves at the World Cup with his outstanding performances, but competition to sign him at club level is high.
On top of Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are all keen on securing his services, whilst Arsenal are in the mix as well. He looks set to be at the middle of a major bidding war, and although Todd Boehly is likely to match any figure on the table, that won't be the be all and end all.
Bellingham is set to hold off making a decision until the end of the season and may well end up remaining at Borussia Dortmund too, but his choice will be based on a number of factors, including the project he's committing to, facilities and the general feeling.
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In this sense there may not be heaps of optimism from Chelsea fans. The atmosphere at Stamford Bridge is poor after a lacklustre start to the season, shock sacking of Thomas Tuchel and overall wear and tear from a tough year. Although they do have a collection of young players with ambitious owners, it will take more than that to convince Bellingham.
To do it they will need to harness extra motivation to sell the club to their target. Liverpool have found a perfect way to do this over the past month, with a strong relationship being built between Jordan Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Bellingham. The trio have been seen together consistently in Qatar, worrying Blues fans that the Reds will have the upper hand when it comes to transfer business.
Bellingham is also close to Reece James, extremely close, as football.london has reported, but that alone won't be enough. What it does do is highlight the importance of personal bonds between players though, and that's something that can be taken advantage of in another deal.
England teammate Declan Rice remains another target, and he has an equally strong relationship with Mason Mount. The pair have remained best friends since childhood having played at the academy at Cobham together, before the West Ham captain was let go aged 14.
Since then Rice has been linked with a move back to Stamford Bridge and is expected to leave the Hammers next summer. Competition for the midfielder is also high again though, and Mount may well be a point of difference that Chelsea need to make their pitch the best one.
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