Dortmund will seek a British transfer record fee for Jude Bellingham this summer, with Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea vying for his signing.
Bellingham has thrived in the Bundesliga, and he now has 15 England caps after making his debut less than 18 months ago.
The player has been extensively connected with a move to Liverpool, which is understandable considering Jurgen Klopp’s desire to bring in a new midfielder.
However, both Manchester United and Chelsea are anticipated to battle for Bellingham, who is regarded as a once-in-a-generation talent.
Borussia Dortmund are determined to keep him but Bellingham will have just two years left on his deal this summer, meaning it will be the last chance for the club to extract as big a fee as possible for him.
With that in mind, the Athletic reports that BVB will ask £131 million for Bellingham.
That would be a transfer record fee for a British player, surpassing Manchester City’s £100 million fee for Jack Grealish in 2021.
Last summer, Liverpool smashed their club transfer record by signing Darwin Nunez from Benfica for £85 million, while United made Antony their second most expensive player of all time after signing him for £85 million from Ajax.
All interested parties are likely to begin bidding for Bellingham around or near the £90 million mark.
Dortmund demanded £114 million for Jadon Sancho in 2020 before selling him to United for about £72 million a year later.
‘I never said I wanted to leave Dortmund’, says Akanji
Manuel Akanji has confessed that he was never desperate to leave Borussia Dortmund, and that his remarks were frequently misconstrued.
On transfer deadline day, Manuel Akanji signed a five-year contract with Manchester City after leaving Borussia Dortmund.
The Swiss international has made a great start to his career with the English Premier League champions. But he has now declared that he will not be leaving BVB at any cost this summer.
Akanji told 20minuten that he told the BVB bosses that he would like to take the next step in his career if possible. However, he believes that his words were frequently misconstrued.
“I never said I wanted to make a move at all costs,” Akanji said. “I said I’d like to take the next step if it’s possible. That was often misinterpreted.”
“I don’t want to talk about it too much anymore. There are also some things that don’t need to be made public. It’s a chapter that I’d like to put behind me now.”
