Chelsea’s primary focus for this summer will be to bring in defensive reinforcements with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen departing. However, the club will also have one eye on their options in central midfield.
N’Golo Kante and Jorginho have been at the forefront of the Blues’ successes over the last few years but both players are in their 30’s and out of contract next summer. And it remains unclear whether Chelsea will offer the duo new deals or sell in the upcoming transfer window.
One name that has been consistently linked with the west London outfit as a potential long-term solution to their ageing midfield is Jude Bellingham. The Borussia Dortmund star is one of the most sought-after young players in Europe after two highly impressive seasons in German football.
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Bellingham is a box-to-box midfielder and has been likened in terms of style of play to Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard. His ability to burst forward from midfield, score and create goals as well as his defensive qualities would make him the ideal replacement for Kante.
The 18-year-old has been linked with a number of European football’s top clubs; including Manchester City and Liverpool. However, the Dortmund star has already confirmed his intentions are to remain at Signal Iduna Park.
“The only future I think about is the next game for Dortmund," Bellingham told German publication Ruhr Nachrichten. “I look forward to next season. I look forward to it finally starting. But yes, I will be here next season and I will be ready.”
Bellingham joined Dortmund in the summer of 2020 from Championship side Birmingham City. Since arriving at the Bundesliga club he’s made 90 appearances in all competitions, scoring 10 goals and notching 18 assists.
His meteoric rise has also been recognised on the international stage with 15 England caps to his name. Whilst Bellingham has achieved moderate success at Dortmund in terms of regularly playing in the Champions League and a DFB-Pokal Cup triumph in 2021; he's expected to leave the club in the near future to challenge for club football's biggest prizes.
