Jude Bellingham quote hints which club would suit him best

Robin Bairner

• 18 Feb 2023 12:02 GMT
• 3 min read

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham is the world’s hottest football transfer news topic.

The 19-year-old England star is set to leave on a huge deal in the summer, with many of the world’s biggest clubs set to scramble for his signature.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid are among the leading contenders to sign the youngster, who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €100 million.

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Given this number of choices, Bellingham is set to have a hard decision to make that will depend on numerous considerations.

One of those will be his team-mates, and most importantly who will be playing alongside him in midfield.

Speaking to BT Sport after Dortmund’s 1-0 win over Chelsea in midweek, Bellingham praised former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can’s contribution to his side.

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“Emre Can plays in a position where he gets overlooked but we know how important he is to the team. I told him that and I hope he knows he had a brilliant game,” he said.

This suggests that when he moves on, he would ideally like to play alongside a midfielder like Can, who he believes allows him to be at his best.

Man Utd and Liverpool hold edge for Bellingham

With the help of data analytics experts SciSports, FootballTransfers looked at which of Bellingham’s suitors have a player closest to Can in the style of their game.

The outcome is good news for Manchester United and Liverpool, who both have central midfield players who play similarly to the 37-time capped Germany star.

From United’s perspective, it is Casemiro who is the figure that most closely resembles Can. This is an ideal match because the 30-year-old is an undisputed starter in Erik ten Hag’s side and there is little prospect of that changing in the foreseeable future.

At Liverpool, meanwhile, Fabinho is the player who most closely shares the attributes of Bellingham’s Dortmund colleague. This could be a little more complicated for the Anfield club given that the Brazil star is one of the players who has been earmarked to make way for the Englishman.

Bellingham’s future team-mates are unlikely to be decisive as he picks his next club, but they will have an influence, and in this regard Man Utd and Liverpool hold an edge.