Chelsea could sign the most-valuable player in world football at the moment if they beat Real Madrid and Liverpool to the signing of Jude Bellingham, according to CIES Football Observatory. Their biannual list of which players in the world have the estimated highest transfer value also includes a number of current Chelsea players, as well as the Blues' primary January target Enzo Fernandez.
Borussia Dortmund star Bellingham looks set to be at the centre of a crucial transfer battle which could potentially decide which team reigns at the top of European football for years to come. Liverpool and Real Madrid join Chelsea as the clubs with the strongest links to the teenager after it was confirmed by Dortmund they would discuss his future in Germany following the conclusion of the World Cup.
A bidding war could likely occur in the summer, with all three clubs able to make a strong claim that attracts Bellingham to their respective club and now his true transfer value has been disclosed.
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CIES, using a statistical model they developed, have confirmed that Bellingham is worth €208m (£184.2million) narrowly ahead of Manchester City's Phil Foden and Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain.
Fernandez of Benfica, who has garnered a lot of attention from Chelsea in January, is also on the list and confirmed as being worth €80.3million (£71million), with his release clause set at €120million (£106.1million).
The latest reports indicate that Chelsea are not particularly keen on paying the release clause and could offer a player plus cash deal involving Hakim Ziyech and loan moves for January signing David Datro Fofana and all but confirmed arrival Andrey Santos.
Plenty of current Chelsea stars are also on the list with Reece James at €99.3million (£87.8million), Raheem Sterling at €93million (£82.2million), Kai Havertz worth €84.6million (74.8million) and Mason Mount listed as being worth €78.3million (£69.2million).
Meanwhile, two other major targets of Chelsea are included in the top 100 in Declan Rice and Josko Gvardiol. The latter is worth €125.8million (£111.3million), while the West Ham captain comes in at €73.4million (£64.9million).
Manchester City and Real Madrid each have five players of the top 20, with Luiz Diaz and Arsenal's Bukayo Saka the only non-City Premier League players to break into the top fifth of the list.
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