Having already established himself as a generational talent Jude Bellingham is enjoying another exceptional season in the Bundesliga, racking up astounding numbers for Borussia Dortmund.
He is committing to 1.92 blocks per 90. He is completing 1.87 dribbles per 90. He is having 3.05 touches in the opposition box per game.
When all of his output is accumulated, it puts the 19-year-old statistically in the top 3% of midfielders across Europe in 2022/23.
Naturally, this makes the prodigiously gifted teen a much wanted man but of course that’s hardly breaking news.
For the past year and more, speculation has been at fever pitch as to where Bellingham’s future lies, with seemingly every media outlet having a theory, dressed up as news. Will it be Manchester City or Liverpool? Will it be Real Madrid?
Furthermore, with the England star reportedly set to turn down a contract extension with Der BVB we can expect that hysteria to multiply ten-fold in the coming months.
Don’t discount however, the answer to the most pondered footballing question of 2023 to ultimately be a mundane one come the start of next season. The destination nobody is really contemplating.
Which would be Dortmund, for another twelve months at least.
Granted, there is that rejected contract to consider, one that’s worth up to £180,000 a week. It’s a figure that sounds substantial until it’s acknowledged that his interested suitors will be offering almost double that this summer.
It would therefore be hardly ideal for Dortmund to have as their captain going into a new campaign a pivotal player who has turned down their advances to stay for the long-term. Who clearly has one eye on the exit.
Yet the astronomical sum it would take to dislodge Bellingham from Germany may eventually prove too problematic this summer for all concerned parties, with circling clubs instead resolving to wait a year and go again.
In the summer of 2024, the midfielder would have only twelve months left on his existing contract and would likely be available for a huge fee, not an unrealistic one.
Alternatively – and just as possible – there might indeed be a mind-boggling, world record bid.
After all, should it be City, Liverpool or Chelsea who win out, Bellingham will automatically be one of the favourites in the Premier League Player of the Year odds before a ball has been caressed.
That’s the level we’re talking about here. He’s a game-changer. A title-tilting individual worth any amount in reason.
Moreover, should the Etihad be his destination of choice, the midfield prodigy will be reunited with Erling Haaland, who is currently short-priced in the top scorer Premier League odds.
However much, or little, that is a factor is negligible but it still gives the reigning champions an edge.
Speak to anyone connected to Liverpool however and they will insist it is they who hold all the cards beyond the financial scope. For Bellingham, it is said, was a boyhood Red with his influential father too an ardent fan.
Highlighting this however leads us only to speculation, peddling theories dressed up as news.
All we know for sure at this juncture is that mountains will have to be moved to land the most impactful player on the planet. And for this to happen, an awful lot of money will have to do an awful lot of talking.
Don’t rule out that conversation lasting a full year and more.
FIRST PUBLISHED: 21st February 2023
