Jude Bellingham (19 years old) remains firm: he wants Real Madrid and the midfielder’s choice is to give priority to Los Blancos. As AS has learned, the Englishman prefers Madrid as a return to England is not currently part of the player’s plans. When he left Birmingham to go to Germany at the age of 17, it was very much a calculated decision as he decided that foreign experience could help his career more than staying in his home country. He gambled on becoming a star outside his country, something that turned out well in Dortmund, and he sees no reason to change that.
Madrid received feedback of Bellingham’s entourage which reinforces their plans, namely having Bellingham as the Galactiko from 2023 (Haaland will be 2024). With Bellingham’syes‘ in their pocket is vital to the powerful operation the club has built around this transfer. In this way, Madrid avoids entering into a bloody bidding war with its three major British potential employers, Manchester City, United and Liverpool, which is likely to raise the price of Bellingham to one that will make things impossible for the Spanish side to match. keep. With that difficult alternate reality off the table, reaching an agreement with Borussia Dortmund, a club with an excellent relationship with Madrid, would be easier.
Despite this big card in Real Madrid’s wizarding sleeve, the club is realistic about the cost of the transfer and even more so after the excellent World Cup that the midfielder had with the Three Lions. A deal in the range of 120 million euros seems inevitable, although Dortmund do not plan to put up a fight. Hans-Joachim Watzke, the boss of the German club, is committed to maintaining this fluid relationship with Real Madrid, which in recent years has given him preferential access to the loan of several of Real Madrid’s younger stars, such as Hakimi Achraf and Rainier.
From the Spanish club’s point of view, Bellingham’s positive attitude clears up one of the possible questions surrounding his adjustment, which is his transition to the dressing room. Madrid want him to share space with Modric in 2023 to help his settlement process and have sweetened a switch in midfield from 2024when it is expected that the Croatian can start a new chapter in his life, retired with all the trophies he could wish for, or start a new adventure in another country.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/diarioas/VQIBGTNRRXIY6WYSHXECBXT7ZE.jpg)
Full screen
“Bellingham is the future of midfielders”they closed within the corridors of Madrid, but the adaptation of a British footballer to Los Blancos remains a recurring historical event with very different outcomes. David Beckham and Steve McManaman managed it, but Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate not so much. And there is the recent example of Gareth Bale, who is in a league of his own.
As AS has revealed on previous occasions, Madrid has made the choice to go into the market only for specific footballers or for irresistible opportunities (Rüdiger, for example): Bellingham is part of that first group. Despite his young age, he is considered ready to move up a level and lead the way within a great team. It is also thought that if he falls into the money hands of the Premier League, due to the huge economic potential of the Big Six (Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal), it will be almost impossible to get him out of the bubble in the future.
What’s more, Bellingham was the only England starter in Qatar not to play in the Premier League – and never did. ThereforeMadrid worked with the player to present themselves as the best alternative outside of England.
Full screen
The World Cup football tournament was the latest dazzling appearance of a Bellingham who is placed together with Musiala (Bayern) as the superstars of the Bundesliga. At Dortmund, he emerged as a complete midfielder who now broadened his already large sphere of influence with goals. He is on the verge of reaching ten goals this season and he is the top scorer for the team in this Champions League, with four goals. In the round of 16, he will return home as the draw paired Dortmund with Chelsea.
He has a projected growth that Madrid, with Ancelotti first on the list, considers to fit like a glove with the idea of ​​overhauling the midfield, something a club started two years ago. Fede Valverdewhich was a project that Real Madrid Castilla (the B team) was working on was at Camavinga (20 years old) in 2021, Tchouameni (22 years old) in 2022 and Bellingham would be the puzzle piece of 2023, at just 20 years old. It is a construction project without pressure, which can generate a mixture along with veterans Modric and Krooswho continue to deliver a weekly masterclass to each other, forming top-level competition in the eleven.
There is money to face it
To build on that youthful midfield that those in Madrid crave, they will need to make a strong investment with Jude Bellingham – but financially it won’t be a problem. The signing of Tchouameni was split (€20M of the €100M total is in variables) and then the club made cash with Casemiro (€72m fixed and €13M in variables). The talent from Dortmund is another footballer who will break the €100 million mark, but in Madrid they have the muscles for it.
