Jude Bellingham’s desire to become the first English player to win the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen looks to be pushing him towards a summer move to Real Madrid.
The Borussia Dortmund and England midfielder is one of the most coveted players in Europe and has held talks with Manchester City in recent months, along with Real.
But i understands there is now increasing confidence from the Bernabeu that they have managed to convince him that a summer move to Spain will help him achieve his goal of becoming one of the best players in the world.
Talks have been described as “advanced” and well-sourced reports in Spain went as far as claiming the transfer could be wrapped up in the next couple of weeks.
i understands, however, that a deal is not yet completed and Manchester City and Manchester United still hope to convince Bellingham to return to England. Borussia Dortmund have also stressed that there is no agreement with the European champions and they are hoping to recoup £130m for the 19-year-old.
But the message coming from Spain is clear and unwavering: Real think they have their man. If that happens Bellingham would join Aurélien Tchouaméni, 23, and Eduardo Camavinga, just 20, at Madrid in a midfield comprising of some of the best young talent in the world.
A long-term contract with a huge spike in salary is also on offer to Bellingham but his next move has never been motivated by money. Instead, and like his friend Erling Haaland did last year, he has taken his time while assessing his next move.
His father Mark is his representative and Bellingham’s advisers have taken a long-term view of his career path, commissioning data analytics as part of the decision.
Liverpool were contenders to sign Bellingham but dropped out of the race last month, believing that their midfield rebuild required multiple signings and certainty around landing their top targets. James Milner’s impending move to Brighton is the first sign of the upheaval to come at Anfield.
Although it always looked like a long shot for Manchester United, missing out on Bellingham would come as something of a blow to their city rivals.
Even as recently as last week, there was a feeling at Manchester City that the Bellingham deal was still very much in play.
They have other targets, including Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister and West Ham’s Declan Rice but having secured Haaland 12 months ago they were looking to cement their transfer supremacy by moving for Bellingham. Unless confidence in Madrid is misplaced, it looks like that has proved beyond them.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/scQwTjZ
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