Over the years, German side Borussia Dortmund have made a name for themselves as being one of the best teams in Europe to mould young players into next-generation talents. With the likes of Mario Gotze, Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland to have successfully evolved into top tier players from Dortmund, it looks like English midfielder Jude Bellingham is set to be the next big star to come out of Signal Iduna Park.
As Haaland and Sancho have left the German side in consecutive summer transfer windows, Bellingham has laid claim to being the most promising youngster in the squad. The midfielder has also proved worthy of the hype around him this season as he bagged 6 goals and 12 assists in all competitions for Dortmund and at the same time earned his first start for the England national team time for the World Cup qualifiers.
His two-year spell at Dortmund has already managed to turn the heads of many top European clubs who are now reportedly courting the 18-year-old. Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United have all been keeping tabs on the Englishman. However, it looks like even newly crowned European Champions Real Madrid too are interested in the player. As per reports, Los Blancos could make an offer to sign the player in the 2023 summer window.
Amidst these transfer rumours, Bellingham and his brother Jobe were both spotted in Paris watching Real take on Liverpool in the UCL final alongside Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane.
The two brothers seem to have spoken with the French maestro as suggested by the pictures taken of them posing alongside Zidane. While Jude has already made a name for himself, his brother Jobe began his senior career in football with Birmingham City (just as Jude) last year and looks to follow in his elder brother’s footsteps.
Since retiring as a player, Zidane has played a huge role in Real’s transfer activities in the past with him scouting out players such as Raphael Varane at just the age of 19. With Luka Modric approaching retirement in a few years’ time, Madrid are on the lookout for a successor and Bellingham could be one of the names appreciated by Zidane and the club.
Just as Haaland and Sancho have left for Europe’s elites from Dortmund, perhaps come 2023 it could be Bellingham’s turn to take the next step in his career and going by the evidence from Stade de France on Sunday, a switch to the Spanish capital cannot be ruled out.
