Bellingham back in spotlight ahead of potential transfer

Photo: The Canadian Press

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Perhaps no club was happier to see Enzo Fernandez join Chelsea for a British record $131.4 million than Borussia Dortmund.

The benchmark has been set for prodigiously talented midfielders, and ahead of a summer when Jude Bellingham is expected to be on the market it should drive up the value of the German club's 19-year-old star.

“He’s a fantastic all-round modern midfield player. He’s got a touch of everything. He plays like a 23-, 24-year-old because of what he’s done at Dortmund and the amount of football he’s played,” former England coach Glenn Hoddle told The Associated Press. “He plays above his age."

Dortmund has a habit of selling a rising star every year and Bellingham looks set to be the next one.

The England international can further enhance his reputation Wednesday when Dortmund hosts Chelsea in a Champions League round-of-16 match that puts him head-to-head against Fernandez.

Bellingham was one of the standout performers at the World Cup until England was eliminated by France in the quarterfinals. He has suitors from across Europe, with Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool all admirers.

He has also been linked with Real Madrid, while Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said in December, “Everybody wants him.”

And while it was Fernandez who commanded a record-breaking move to Chelsea from Benfica during the January transfer window, Dortmund could expect similar offers for Bellingham at the end of the season.

Dortmund's first leg against Chelsea will be Bellingham’s first game of widespread international interest since the World Cup.

How he copes with Fernandez is likely to be closely monitored by those readying summer bids.

The teenager already showed his single-mindedness by resisting United's overtures to join Dortmund in 2020. He was a starter for England at the World Cup in Qatar and has already captained his club.

“You can’t look at him as inexperienced,” said Hoddle, a BT Sport analyst who will be covering Wednesday's match. “Don’t look at experience by age or grey hairs because you can be experienced but doing the wrong thing all your life.

“We know he’s technically good, we know he’s got a good engine, he gets forward, can defend, all of those attributes, but for me it’s the mentality that’s the reason why he’s ahead of all these players.”

Dortmund sold Jadon Sancho to United and Erling Haaland to City in recent seasons. Both clubs are expected to be in the running for Bellingham.

“He’s already gone abroad, so he’s not scared of going abroad and living abroad, so Real Madrid would be a club that would be very difficult to turn down,” Hoddle said. “If he’s going to come to England for me it would be City or Liverpool where he ends up. Liverpool is an interesting one. I think they need him more than any of the other four clubs at the top (of the Premier League).

“Whoever goes that extra mile, I think will get him. If he went to Real Madrid, I’d have no qualms about that. I could understand why the kid would do that.”

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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