Talks over Bellingham’s future are set to intensify, with Chelsea among a raft of clubs in the race.
Jude Bellingham is a man in high demand. While Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Real Madrid will all fancy their chances at landing the Borussia Dortmund star this summer, Chelsea have not ruled out swooping in for the sought-after midfielder.
Now, a transfer fee appears to have been set at a minimum of £110million for the England international. This could price United out of the bidding war, as the transfer budget given to Erik ten Hag may be limited, as the Telegraph reports.
Not only would the asking price break the record for a British player, currently held by Jack Grealish at £100million, it would also exceed the record fee paid by a British club. That particular record was set by Todd Boehly in January, as he parted company with £106million for fellow midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
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The Chelsea co-owner therefore knows they have the power to win the race for the 19-year-old. Meanwhile, United’s chances could have been knocked by this latest price point, as Ten Hag is aware the club will have to sell players in order to fund potential incomings.
Their priority is also expected to be an out-and-out striker rather than a midfielder, with both Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen linked. Talks are set to come to a head towards the end of this season, with a decision over Bellingham’s future expected to be made “in the next few weeks”.
One source told the Telegraph that “everything is open” with regards to his preferred destination. The mooted price is slightly steeper than what was previously suggested, with the expectation simply being that he would cost in excess of £100million.
Dortmund remain keen on keeping the midfielder beyond this summer, and they don’t seem set on just rolling over and allowing the teenager to leave without a fight. The Blues are thought to be slightly behind Madrid and Liverpool in the race to sign Bellingham, with Declan Rice another target that could be pursued by Boehly and co.
