Chelsea's interest in Jude Bellingham has been well-documented over the past 12 months with Englishman seen as the catalyst that can begin the necessary overhaul of the Blues midfield.
Numerous ex-professionals and pundits alike have insisted it is crucial that Chelsea sign Bellingham as he has the potential to take the England midfielder to the next level.
Bellingham has been in Germany for the last few years and despite only being 19, has been made the third captain of Borussia Dortmund behind Marco Reus and Mats Hummels.
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The midfielder has already played 112 games across all competitions for Dortmund, scoring 19 and creating 21, with nine of those goals and three assists coming in the current campaign.
There has been constant rumours surrounding the future of the Birmingham-born teenager in every transfer window since his arrival at Dortmund in the summer of 2020, but the latest update in this transfer saga is no rumour.
Hans-Joachim Watzke, who is the CEO of the German outfit, has made a significant comment regarding the future of Bellingham which will spike the interest of a lot of top European heavyweights.
Speaking on Bild-TV, Watzke said: "I think as soon as Qatar is over, we’re going to have a basic conversation about what he actually wants. With him, with his parents, with whom we have a very close relationship and of course with his advisor. And then he should just tell us whether he wants to stay or whether he wants to go. Either way, we’ll discuss it pleasantly and reasonably.
“But we don’t have to pretend that the topic isn’t on the table. When the really big ones are there, we can’t afford to fight financially either. Jude is a wonderful boy who also has his fluctuations – we’ve seen that now but he is certainly one of the greatest talents in European football.”
Dortmund are likely preparing to lose Bellingham sooner rather than later but they are not exactly unfamiliar with losing their star players, having seen Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland depart most recently to join Manchester United and Manchester City, respectively.
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