Jude Bellingham: Ranking the contenders to land Dortmund star

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 9 Nov 2022 14:39 GMT
• 3 min read

Jude Bellingham is the hottest name in football transfer news presently, with the Borussia Dortmund midfielder wanted by virtually every major club in Europe.

Dortmund are not going to make the England international midfielder easy to get. After losing Erling Haaland for below market value last summer, they are aiming to make a huge profit on Bellingham, who arrived at the club for €23 million from Birmingham City in 2020.

A bidding war looks inevitable, with Europe’s finest jostling to get their hands on a player who could be a star until the mid-2030s.

But who is leading the way for the player? Here’s FootballTransfers’ Power Ranking of clubs chasing Bellingham.

MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo could cost Man Utd Jude Bellingham

5. Man Utd

All the clubs in this list stand a chance of landing Bellingham, but for the moment Man Utd are outsiders. In part, this is simply because the timing of a deal is not right. The Red Devils are in the middle of a rebuild, but there are areas of the squad that need more drastic attention than the midfield. For instance, they will have to replace Cristiano Ronaldo in attack. Doing that and signing Bellingham is likely to prove too costly.

4. Chelsea

The lure of London has to be given consideration by Bellingham. Chelsea will try to lure the player to Stamford Bridge off the back of a promise that they are building a talented young team. The vision with the Blues is long-term but any prospect of them completing a successful deal in 2023 hinges on them reaching the Champions League. That looks a long shot right now.

MORE: Dortmund ready to break the bank to keep Jude Bellingham

3. Liverpool

The Reds are known to be chasing options to freshen up their midfield, but there is uncertainty over which direction the club is heading in presently because of potential upheaval at boardroom level. On top of this, Jurgen Klopp’s side are presently seven points adrift of Champions League football next season. If that gap can be overhauled, they will certainly stand a good chance of landing Bellingham – but if they fail, the England star will go elsewhere.

2. Real Madrid

After missing out on Kylian Mbappe, Los Blancos are eager to tie down another major young talent. Some reports that the Bernabeu is Bellingham’s favoured destination, although there could be a sticking point in terms of a transfer fee, with the Spanish club unwilling to pay the type of money that Dortmund are asking for. Champions League football and a fight for silverware is a given, though.

1. Manchester City

There is so much to like about the prospects of Bellingham going to Man City. They clearly have the financial clout to make a deal happen, he could team up with his friend Erling Haaland and they have a long-term sustainable project that guarantees the youngster the opportunity to challenge for trophies for the foreseeable future. They have to be favourites in this race. The Daily Mail reports talks have already taken place.