According to reports on Eurosport, Chelsea have identified Borussia Dortmund 17-year-old midfield prodigy, Jude Bellingham, as their prime target for the summer.
The former Birmingham City midfielder is tipped to be one of the next big things in English football, and he has already shown signs of justifying the claims. He broke into the Birmingham City first team at the age of 16 and soon became their driving force in midfield. His performances in Birmingham attracted a lot of interest, and the club finally saw him depart to Dortmund.
Even during his stay at Dortmund, he has grown gradually into a solid all-around midfield player with great attributes. He is a player who can adjust and adapt to situations as he is equally capable in defensive or attacking roles. Bellingham has featured 39 times for Borussia and has registered three goals and four assists across all competitions. His recent performances have been top-notch, and therefore it is no surprise that the 17-year-old has attracted interest from top clubs like Chelsea and others.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel already has several quality options in midfield. The trio of N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho often does not get the chance to play together as Mason Mount occupies that attacking midfielder role and has been fantastic for the Blues. So it is a big headache for the German tactician as youngster Billy Gilmour is also waiting on the wings to grab his opportunity.
There are several midfielders on loan as well like Ross Barkley, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ethan Ampadu. They will also be eager to impress Tuchel and make it to the squad for the upcoming season.
However, Chelsea cannot be certain with the options at hand, as some of them may leave for more game time while Jorginho has made it clear that he wants to return to Italy. So the Blues must look at the options available, and Bellingham can be that long term option for Chelsea as he can provide that stability in the middle of the park for a long time.