Manchester United will battle Liverpool and a host of elite European rivals to sign Jude Bellingham this summer transfer window.
The Borussia Dortmund wonderkid is the most in-demand midfielder in the game after a meteoric rise with the German giants, as well as England at international level. He does not turn 20 until the end of June but Bellingham has already racked up 53 goal involvements across 189 appearances for club and country.
Bellingham became the most expensive 17-year-old in history when he left boyhood club Birmingham City for Dortmund in a £25million transfer in July 2020. United were among those to miss out on the Englishman at the time, and he has only earned more admirers during his time in the Bundesliga.
Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea lead the interest from Premier League clubs, while Real Madrid are long-term suitors as president Florentino Perez prepares for a changing of the guard in his star-studded midfield. The Red Devils are also firmly in the mix, according to the Daily Telegraph, and are ready to join what is expected to be a fierce bidding war for the player this summer.
The report claims Dortmund have set a minimum price tag of €125million (£110m) on their prized asset, meaning a British and Premier League record bid will be required to prise him from Westfalenstadion. Such a sum would surpass the £100m City paid to sign Jack Grealish from Aston Villa in the summer of 2021 and the £106m Chelsea stumped up to land Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in January.
United have registered their interest in Bellingham and their main competitors are believed to be Liverpool, City and Real Madrid. That is because Chelsea have accepted they are not among the favourites to sign the player, even though they have not decided against making an offer.
United's pursuit of Bellingham will be strongly influenced by the transfer budget made available to Erik ten Hag after what has been an impressive debut season in the Old Trafford hot seat. Dortmund, however, are loath to lose their player and hope he may yet decide to stay for another year.
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The report adds that talks over Bellingham's future are expecting to intensify over the coming days and he will determine his favoured destination, with one source declaring: "Everything is open." Liverpool have thought they would be first in line in the player's pecking order after encouraging signs in recent months, but rival clubs do not accept this.
The Reds, who are sixth in the table, will almost certainly need to qualify for the Champions League to convince Bellingham to move to Anfield, whereas United appear all but certain to finish in the top four.
