Borussia Dortmund beat out Chelsea, Manchester United for Birmingham City’s Jude Bellingham — reports

At the age of 16, Birmingham City’s Jude Bellingham already looks destined for great success. The midfield prodigy, who has played in central and wide roles, has been a regular for the Championship outfit since the end of August, with 35 appearances as a professional under his belt while not even being old enough to drive.

Unsurprisingly, Bellingham’s talents have garnered plenty interest from across England and Europe, including Chelsea, Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund, to name a few. Birmingham were expecting to win big from this, as they reportedly rejected a £20m bid from United in January since it was at least £30m short of their expected price.

But the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has forced Birmingham into a weaker negotiating position, and they have reportedly accepted a €20m bid from Borussia Dortmund. That’s according to German newspaper Ruhr Nachrichten (via Get German Football News) with the BBC adding further confirmation that BVB are “hopeful” of completing the transfer some time soon.

A major factor behind Dortmund beating out other suitors was their long-standing record of giving a proper stage for young talents like Bellingham to succeed — Jadon Sancho is the obvious example, but Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic was also a beneficiary of this a few years ago. Chelsea themselves are only really beginning to do so this season, with Frank Lampard and Jody Morris leading the effort. Perhaps in the future, it will be the Blues who get to add someone like Bellingham at a reasonable price instead!