Real Madrid agree deal with Borussia Dortmund to sign Jude Bellingham

The 19-year-old will complete a medical before he is officially announced

Real Madrid have reached an agreement with Borussia Dortmund to sign Jude Bellingham. As reported by David Ornstein, the two clubs have agreed a deal in excess of €100m in what will be one of the biggest transfers in both clubs’ histories. Bellingham will complete a medical before he is officially unveiled by Los Blancos however the transfer is likely to be one of the biggest to take place this summer. Joining Dortmund in the summer of 2020 for £25m – making him the most expensive 17-year-old in history at the time – the midfielder quickly established himself as one of the brightest talents in world football. There, Bellingham excelled and was fast-tracked into the England senior squad and featured for the Three Lions at the European Championships and recent World Cup in Qatar, where he scored against Iran in the opening game. Having impressed so much, the youngster has even taken on the responsibility of being captain on some occasions for Dortmund this season as they narrowly missed out on the Bundesliga title to Bayern Munich due to a final-day defeat against Mainz.

Man City were also interested in Jude Bellingham

The 19-year-old had been heavily linked with Liverpool in the build up to the summer only for the Reds to back down as they felt they should invest in more areas of the squad as oppose to using all of their budget on one player. Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp suggested to reporters, in April, that Liverpool would be priced out of one big money move, for a player like Jude Bellingham, as they had multiple areas in their team that needed addressing. He commented:

"It's not about Jude Bellingham my answer now - why do we constantly talk about things we theoretically can't have? We cannot have six players in the summer for £100m [each], for example, everybody would say that's clear. "You have to realise what you can do and then work with that. How much money do we have available and then work with that. We are not children. Ask a five-year-old what they want for Christmas and they say a Ferrari, you wouldn't say that's a good idea, it's too expensive and you cannot drive it."

Liverpool have, at least, got to work on summer recruitment with Alexis Mac Allister arriving for an upfront fee of £35m, with performance-related add-ons included in the deal. Manchester City had also been rumoured to be interested in the England international, however they never appeared to be seriously in the race as Madrid took advantage. It highlights the start of a new era for the 14-time European champions following the departure of Karim Benzema. The Frenchman officially joined Al Ittihad on Tuesday in a deal estimated to be in the region of £200m a year. Other high profile names such as Marco Asensio and Eden Hazard also departed the Santiago Bernabeu as Carlo Ancelotti prepares to rebuild a squad that can take back the LaLiga title from Barcelona and attempt to win a 15th Champions League title. 18+ | gamblingcare.ie