Jude Bellingham is set to leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season. A bidding war is inevitable.
Jude Bellingham can take his pick of clubs next season. It is as straightforward as that for the 19-year-old with the world at his feet and the giants of his game banging at his door.
Manchester United love him, Liverpool want him to inject youth and sparkle into an ageing midfield, while Manchester City know they are likely to have to replace at least one of Bernardo Silva or Ilkay Gundogan next summer.
Chelsea, too, are long-term admirers and have shown under their new owners that they're not afraid to splash the cash.
Bellingham, then, is quite simply the player every top Premier League club is prepared to battle it out for when he likely leaves Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season.
But who's going to sign the most in-demand young player in world football? GOAL analyses what the future holds for Bellingham…
Getty ImagesBellingham knows his worth
First things first, there is no guarantee the teenager from Stourbridge will even opt for a homecoming just yet. After all, he already resisted the overtures of Sir Alex Ferguson, Bryan Robson and Eric Cantona when United threw everything they had at trying to tempt him away from Birmingham in 2020.
Bellingham knows his worth, knows his own mind – and has the assuredness of someone much older than his tender years to follow his own path.
Dortmund, he decided, was a better environment to develop his prodigious talents than Old Trafford.
Erling Haaland thought likewise when being courted by United at around the same time – and it didn’t turn out too badly for him.
So, like Haaland, Bellingham is set to be at the centre of an almighty transfer scramble when he leaves Dortmund – but don’t rule out Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain, if he concludes that a return to England is not the right move for him.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesReady for the next step
Something that does seem certain is that he will be ready for the next step come the end of the season.
He gave a tantalising glimpse of his qualities in Dortmund's Champions League defeat to City earlier this month, scoring at the Etihad and imposing himself on Pep Guardiola’s star-studded team.
He feels like the man to take England to the next level ahead of the World Cup, with Gareth Southgate facing scrutiny during this international window over how he handles the midfielder.
Indeed, there are growing concerns that the manager's conservative tactics are stifling Bellingham's immense talent.
GettyThe future of England
Bellingham’s versatility is a strength and has allowed Southgate to keep him involved over the past 18 months – but he needs to be given a defined role in the team.
A midfield three with Declan Rice and Phil Foden would breathe life into an area of the pitch where England too often look short of inspiration – but would the risk-averse Southgate really veer so far away from the extra protection added by a Jordan Henderson or Kalvin Phillips?
Mason Mount instead of Foden might provide more of a half-way house – but the Chelsea player’s best performances have come in a more attacking role for club and country.
The feeling is that Bellingham is the future of England and that the midfield now needs to be built around Bellingham but, as once again underlined in last week's 1-0 loss to Italy, which relegated the Three Lions from the top tier of the Nations League, there are significant doubts over whether Southgate is capable of getting the very best out of the nation's best attacking talents.
GettyQatar calling
Still, there is a growing clamour for Bellingham and Rice to make up two thirds of any England midfield at the World Cup. How Southgate chooses to supplement them is, of course, up to him. It's a decision that will likely define both England's tournament and, by consequence, the manager's legacy.
What's clear, though, is that if Bellingham shines in Qatar, Dortmund can effectively name their price for their most valuable asset.
He is already considered a potential era-defining talent. If he were to leave his mark on the 2022 World Cup, Bellingham will likely be a £100 million ($110m) player by this time next year, which narrows the field of potential destinations significantly…
