Borussia Dortmund have revealed there has been no progress regarding contract talks with Liverpool target Jude Bellingham - and admit keeping the player may be "wishful thinking".
Bellingham is expected to be one of the most sought-after names in the summer transfer window after his burgeoning reputation was increased further by his contribution in helping England reach the World Cup quarter-finals in December.
Liverpool are expected to make a concerted effort to sign the 19-year-old midfielder, who is also attracting interest from Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Manchester United.
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And Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl is realistic about Bellingham's situation despite not giving up hope of agreeing a new deal for a player who is out of contract in two years.
“There has been no new development," said Kehl of negotiations with the England man. "We'll have to be patient for a little longer.
"But of course we try to keep Jude Bellingham at Borussia Dortmund as long as possible because he is an incredibly important player who has shown once again this season how he identifies with this club and makes the team better."
Kehl added: “Things develop due to market mechanisms. So of course I have my thoughts and also have my wishful thinking. I can't say whether that will happen in the end.
"From Borussia Dortmund's point of view, the wishful thinking would be to keep a player of this quality at this club for as long as possible. I would also like to have kept Erling Haaland or Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund, because you can only imagine if we had managed to keep all three players in one team, what opportunities would then arise.
"We will always try everything to keep players of this quality at BVB - because we are ambitious, because we want to win titles. For this we need not only good, but also outstanding players.”
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