Chelsea have suffered a minor setback in their transfer race against a number of top European clubs for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham. The 19-year-old is wanted by several Premier League teams as well as Chelsea while Spanish giants Real Madrid are also among those hoping to acquire his services.
The future of the 19-year-old is the talk of the transfer world with his stellar performances in Germany seemingly increasing his price tag by the hour and the recent reports of what it will take for Dortmund to part ways with Bellingham, may have seen the interest from one team lessen.
According to Spanish news outlet Sport, Real Madrid 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.
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If the European champions do feel priced out of a move for Bellingham, Chelsea must still fend off the interest of several Premier League clubs most notably that of Manchester City and Liverpool.
However, Madrid may re-enter the transfer battle with the knowledge of a new report from AS that states those close to Bellingham feel as though he has his heart set on playing for the Champions League holders.
While it would in some ways make sense for Bellingham to follow in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho and return back to England after proving his worth abroad, he has already shown he is not afraid of challenging himself in foreign countries after joining Dortmund when he was 17 and with the world at his feet, another move to a new country is certainly a possibility.
Arguably though, Madrid are at the complete opposite end of the spectrum to Chelsea as their midfield rebuild is well underway with Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouaméni arriving at the club in recent windows.
While the Blues are in desperate need of reinforcements in the middle of the park, with both Jorginho and N'Golo Kante seeing their contracts expire in 2023. Todd Boehly could certainly provide the spark for a midfield overhaul with the signing of Bellingham and while the hefty price tag will prompt some interest to lessen, after his near-£300m transfer business in the summer, Chelsea are certainly capably of forking out the funds needed.
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