Chelsea have been handed a fresh update in their mission to sign Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham. The 19-year-old midfielder has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League for a while now as he continues to impress for club and country.
Bellingham has been subject to long-term interest from the Blues, football.london understand. The west Londoners watched the England international during his time as an academy player at Birmingham City but, after failing to act on their interest, the German giants swooped in and signed the wonderkid instead.
With Todd Boehly in the market for a new midfielder amid the uncertain futures of N'Golo Kante and Jorginho, Chelsea are one of several European giants keen to acquire Bellingham's services, according to The Athletic. And, according to Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke, the teenage sensation can leave in the summer if he wishes.
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As quoted by ESPN, Watzke claimed that the German side can not rival the wages being which other top-flight European sides can offer. He said: "We will hold talks now, as soon as [the World Cup in] Qatar is over, and then we'll have a fundamental talk about what he would like.
"He just needs to tell us if he'd like to stay or if he'd like to go. In both cases we'll talk about it very pleasantly and reasonably together.
"In general we can imagine that he'd stay with us, but we can't behave as if this topic wasn't on the table. If he says 'I'd like to do something else,' then the really big [clubs] in Europe will be there and we can't afford to fight financially."
The Athletic state that Manchester City are one of the many clubs competing with Chelsea for Bellingham, who sees his contract at the Signal Iduna Park expire in 2025. The midfielder is also said to have been given a €150million (£131million) price tag by Dortmund.
Mike Keegan of the Daily Mail claims that Pep Guardiola's side are believed to have a strong relationship with Dortmund which could hand them a huge advantage in negotiations. But, with Chelsea entering the World Cup break outside of the top-six, Boehly could be willing to break the bank - again - in order to clinch Champions League qualification.
The likes of Liverpool and Manchester United are also believed to hold a big interest in the midfielder, while Real Madrid are said to be considering a move for the former Birmingham City star.
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