Why Chelsea can't sign Bellingham this summer

Stefan Bienkowski

Updated: 23 May 2023 08:54 CDT
5 min read

Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham — © ProShots

Chelsea seem intent on continuing their pursuit of Europe’s top players before the end of the summer transfer window.

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According to Eurosport, the Stamford Bridge side have turned their attention towards Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham.

The England international only made the move to Germany last summer from Birmingham City, but has already started attracting interest from bigger clubs due to his performances in the Bundesliga and Champions League.

However, despite Chelsea’s apparent interest, a move this summer seems unlikely.

Dortmund only sell when it suits them

Perhaps the most important factor in Chelsea’ pursuit of Bellingham is that he wears a yellow and black badge on his chest with the abbreviation “BVB” and that means he won’t be moving back to England anytime soon without a fight.

As Dortmund have shown with Jadon Sancho’s move to Manchester United and Erling Haaland’s lack of a move anywhere this summer, the Bundesliga side only sell their key players when it suits them.

That means that Bellingham - who has a contract at Dortmund until 2025 - won’t be leaving anytime soon unless Chelsea can convince the German club that their offer is overwhelmingly impressive.

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A post shared by Jude Bellingham (@judebellingham)

He’s still settling into life in Germany

Apart from the transfer buzz around the player, it’s worth bearing in mind that Bellingham is only just finding his feet at his new club. Managerial turnover at Dortmund last season meant the England midfielder only really got an extended run in the team in the second half of the previous Bundesliga campaign.

Indeed, this new league campaign is seen by many in Germany as Bellingham’s first as a confirmed starter in Marco Rose’s side and as such means the 18-year-old talent is only just beginning to show what he can really do.

A move to Chelsea in the coming weeks would not only disrupt that progress, but likely see the midfielder be relegated to another role on the bench.

© ProShots - Chelsea have already blown their budget on Lukaku

He’d likely cost too much

Another issue for Chelsea in their pursuit of the young midfielder is that he would undoubtedly cost the London club a fortune.

Off the back of his €23 million move to Germany last summer and the promise he’s shown since then, Bellingham is currently valued at €45.1 million. However, if Chelsea were serious about signing him this year they would likely have to double that figure.

And while the Stamford Bridge side have deeper pockets than most, following the signing of Romelu Lukaku, it’s unlikely that the Premier League giants would be able to afford a transfer of that size in the coming weeks.