According to reports, the Bundesliga giants are edging closer to a €35m (£30.3m) move for one of England’s hottest prospects – fending off Premier League interest in the process.
Manchester United were heavily linked with the 16-year-old winger, who has made 34 appearances this term – 31 in the Championship, where he’s quickly asserted himself as a regular up North.
According to ESPN’s Stephan Uersfeld, the wonderkid has long been admired by BVB and Jude recently made a visit to their training facilities.
United and Dortmund’s arch-rivals Bayern Munich are among those who have been linked, though the magnitude of this deal is not lost by critics and supporters alike.
Dortmund are said to have agreed a fee and ‘prospective salary’ with him, while numerous sources claim the deal is almost complete and one that his father Mark has long advocated too.
Bellingham to emulate Sancho, while big fee justifies his standing
Should the final fee reach £30m or thereabouts, he’d become Dortmund’s club-record signing and eclipse the £26.7m spent to re-sign defender Mats Hummels last summer.
Uersfield drew parallels to their pursuit of Jadon Sancho while the winger was still at Manchester City in August 2017 – agreeing an £8m compensation package at the time.
Although he’s a highly-regarded teenager set for a NT promotion with England this summer, disparity remains regarding the transfer fee.
The Athletic suggest the deal will be around £25m despite United’s renewed efforts to sign him, while an intrigued new audience are being made to remain patient before they can watch Jude in action again.
Wednesday’s FA Cup fifth-round clash with Leicester City would have provided a good opportunity to see how he fared against top opposition, but manager Pep Clotet rested him – while he was an unused substitute during their 2-2 draw with QPR last weekend.
Dortmund’s attacking trio of Sancho, Reyna and Haaland has already excelled in Europe this season.
Although it seems inevitable they’ll all depart for pastures new at some stage in future – Sancho seemingly this summer – BVB would provide Bellingham with the perfect platform to accelerate his development further, while in a lower-pressure environment compared with the ruthlessness that comes with United. Time will tell.
Mo and Sports 