Chelsea have been handed a huge boost in the race to sign Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham. The 19-year-old midfielder has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League for some time 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 teenager 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 clubs eager to sign Bellingham, according to The Athletic. And, following Real Madrid's latest decision, the Blues could be a step closer to wrapping up a deal.
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According to Spanish news outlet Sport, Los Blancos' are not prepared to meet the German side's valuation of Bellingham, which currently stands at an eye-watering £130million. This could leave the door open for Graham Potter as he looks to stamp his philosophy at Chelsea.
A number of other sides, including Premier League rivals Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United, have also shown interest in the Englishman. Signing Bellingham could be easier than first thought too, with Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke admitting that the player can leave in the summer if he wishes.
As quoted by ESPN, Watzke claimed that the German side can not compete with the wages being offered by other top-flight European sides. 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."
Mike Keegan of the Daily Mail claims that Pep Guardiola's side 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 fend off competitors.
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