The race to grab one of the best talent seems to have reached the last corner. Where will England play in 2023?
It’s not an everyday thing in football to see a club retire a number. It’s something that belongs to American sports culture, so every time it happens it’s already an event in itself. If then the player who receives this honor has played only one season as a protagonist with a club and, moreover, is 17 years old, we are faced with something unique that will hardly be repeated. That’s what happened to Jude Bellingham when Borussia Dortmund bought his tag in 2020 for a fee close to 30 million of Euro.
The English talent made just 44 appearances for Birmingham Cityfew, but it has become part of the world Blues when he was not even 8 years old, then making the entire process of the youth sector up to making his debut in the first team at 16 years and 38 days, becoming the youngest debutant in the history of the club. From the one against Portsmouth valid for the first round of the League Cup, the number 22 – the one later withdrawn – has never stopped growing and getting noticed.
As soon as he landed in Germany, the question wasn’t about the boy’s value but about how long he would stay at Signal Iduna Park. Now that we’ve reached the third season, there doesn’t seem to be much left of that time: the next one will be the summer of the definitive leap into a great reality. It remains only to ask which one.
Where will Bellingham play from 2023-24?
All the major European clubs have their eyes on the English midfielder, but only a few will be able to afford him because we are talking about figures that well exceed 100 million euros. Until a few days ago it seemed that the Liverpool was ahead of its competitors, but things could have changed.
According to the Spanish newspaper Brand il Real Madrid he would outrun the British in the race at Bellingham. There would be two offers ready on Florentino Perez’s table: one for 120 million in cash, the other for 100 million to which another 40 in bonuses could be added. The goal of the Spanish champions would be to reach an agreement in the coming weeks and make everything official shortly to beat the competition on time.
Everything is in Bellingham’s hands, however, which has already surprised everyone in the past by preferring Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United. Where will 22 play next year?