The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- Judith Benjamin
Real Madrid have reportedly agreed a fee in excess of £86million with Borussia Dortmund to sign Jude Bellingham.
The 19-year-old England star had been widely expected to join Real and The Athletic report that a price has been agreed.
Bellingham was the most coveted target for the summer after stunning displays for both Dortmund and England, with several top European clubs including Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and PSG among those touted with an interest.
Liverpool were previously thought to be front-runners for the Birmingham City academy graduate, but they pulled out of a deal in April, citing escalating costs of the proposed transfer with the Anfield club unwilling to spend so much of their budget on one player.
Real Madrid have reportedly agreed a fee in excess of £86million to sign Jude Bellingham
Carlo Ancelotti’s side have fought off competition to sign the Borussia Dortmund midfielder
The closest competition that Real faced reportedly came from City, but the Spanish giants edged out Pep Guardiola’s treble-chasers after offering a six-year contract.
Bellingham – who is viewed as a complete midfielder – moved to Germany from Birmingham in 2020 at the age of 16 so is used to living abroad and his family have already begun the process of ensuring he will settle in Madrid.
Bellingham is one of the brightest young talents in the world, having shone for Dortmund ever since moving to Signal Iduna Park.
During three full seasons at the club, he has racked up 132 appearances, scoring 24 goals and was integral to Edin Terzic’s side this season, before they heartbreakingly missed out on a first Bundesliga title in 12 years on the final day.
During a dramatic last game of the season, where Dortmund drew 2-2 with Mainz, Bellingham was forced to watch on from the bench due to a knee injury.
In total, he scored 14 times and added seven assists in 42 appearances in all competitions.
He was the most coveted target this summer after superb displays for Dortmund and England
Bellingham scored 14 goals and added seven assists in all competitions for Dortmund this year
He achieved several accolades, including being voted as the Bundesliga’s player of the season, while he also became the highest-scoring English teenager ever in the Champions League.
A stellar campaign has also seen the 19-year-old captain the side on several occasions, while he has racked up 24 caps for England since his debut in 2020.
According to German newspaper Ruhr Nachrichten, Bellingham handed out a number of farewell gifts at Dortmund after their gut-wrenching end to the season.
The 19-year-old and his mother Denise gave out a series of gifts after a team meeting as he prepared to bid farewell to the club, including a signed pair of football boots he handed to a security guard at the club.
On one of his final visits to the club’s training ground, he also spent plenty of time signing autographs for fans before departing at around 1:15pm CEST.
Real’s hugely influential chief scout Juni Calafat, who is understood to have met the player’s dad, Mark Bellingham, at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel in London, wants Bellingham to lead the club into a new era and form a formidable midfield alongside Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga.
It will be the third summer in a row that Los Blancos have signed arguably the hottest young midfield talent on the continent, having brought in Camavinga from Rennes in 2021 and Tchouameni from AS Monaco in 2022.
However, he was forced to sit out their heartbreaking title collapse due to a knee injury
