“Everybody wants him, I’m not going to hide it,” said Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi after admiring Jude Bellingham’s performances for England at the World Cup.
The 19-year-old midfielder entered the tournament as one of the most talented young players on the planet and his performances did not disappoint. Bellingham leaves his first World Cup with a goal, an assist, and the respect of his nation.
His well-articulated interviews, tireless running and football intelligence show a player mature beyond his young age. And with that maturity, you would expect that he is already planning for the team that would best suit his talents.
Despite “everybody” wanting Bellingham, the teams that have been quoted as most interested and financially capable of signing him are Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and PSG.
Borussia Dortmund didn’t want to lose two of their stars in one transfer window. Therefore, they refused to sell Bellingham last summer due to the departure of goalscoring machine Erling Haaland to Manchester City.
However, unless Dortmund can tie Bellingham to a new long-term contract, next summer will be their last chance to get a record fee for their prized asset, with Bellingham then entering the final two years of his contract.
Before the World Cup, Bellingham was valued by Dortmund at around €120million (£103m), however, that value has risen to at least €150m (£129m) after his starring role for England.
Liverpool were the front runners for Bellingham last summer, with reports that they were prepared to pay the £100m price tag to rejuvenate their ageing midfield. Jordan Henderson and Thiago are too injury-prone to play over thirty Premier League games a season whilst Harvey Elliot and Fabio Carvalho are not good enough defensively to be able to play the deeper positions they have been required to fill this season.
Therefore, Bellingham is seen as a perfect fit for Liverpool. He is defensively good enough to support players such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, he’s got the energy to link the defence to attack and at the World Cup, he has shown that he can be effective in the opposition’s box too.
However, with Liverpool seven points off the Champions League places, and their form being inconsistent so far this term, they may struggle to lure him to Anfield.
Bellingham could also choose to follow in the footsteps of former teammate Erling Haaland and move to the blue half of Manchester. Pep Guardiola has already hailed Bellingham as an “exceptional, great player” and given Liverpool’s shaky start to the season, City may be the most exciting prospect should Bellingham desire a move back to England.
That’s especially if Bernardo Silva finally get his dream move to Barcelona, and Manchester City will need a player who can rotate with and replace 32-year-old Ilkay Gundogan.
Manchester United have promised fans rebuilds multiple times since Sir Alex Ferguson retired and have failed miserably almost every time. Promising players have gone there and left as shells of their former selves, such as Paul Pogba, Alexis Sanchez, Shinji Kagawa and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, whilst current squad members Jadon Sancho, Fred and Donny van de Beek are examples of players whose stock has plummeted since joining the Red Devils.
However, with the Glazer family looking to sell the club, and Erik Ten Hag building optimism and momentum, United could be a project that Jude Bellingham would be interested in by the summer.
During last summer’s transfer window Real Madrid spent €100m on Liverpool’s number one midfield target, Aurelién Tchouaméni, and next summer they could do the same. Real Madrid will always be linked with the biggest players for the biggest fees, and they usually get what they want.
For the past two seasons, Madrid have spent big to replace their legendary midfield trio of Luca Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro. And with Federico Valverde playing his best football on the right wing, there is now a space in their new-look midfield for Bellingham.
PSG are the most recent club to be linked to Jude Bellingham, with their interest becoming apparent during the World Cup. PSG have invested heavily on flashy attackers since Qatari Sports Investments took over, leaving the squad unbalanced and temperamental. Over the summer, club president Al-Khelaifi said the times of signing “flashy, bling-bling” players were over.
Bellingham would be a superstar, blockbuster signing without the baggage and ego that have caused the club problems in the past. There is a place for him in the midfield next to Marco Verratti, which new signings Renato Sanches, Carlos Soler and Fabian have not filled convincingly.
Looking at his options, the toxic environments and unpredictable instability of Manchester United and PSG makes those options potentially damaging for Bellingham’s growth, as a player and an individual.
Meanwhile, the pressure that comes with filling the boots of club legends Kroos and Modric at Real Madrid could be too much, even for a player of Bellingham’s maturity and mental fortitude.
That leaves Manchester City and Liverpool. Manchester City are probably considered the safest option for Bellingham due their stability and success.
He has friends there from the England squad and Erling Haaland from Dortmund, and would be playing for one of the most consistent teams in the world, under a legendary manager who recently signed a new contract until 2025.
If Liverpool can pick up their form and achieve Champions League qualification, then there is the prospect of Bellingham rekindling his comradeship with Jordan Henderson, who Luke Shaw revealed has been “very close” to Bellingham in the England camp, epitomised in their on-field chemistry leading to England’s goal against Senegal in the round of 16.
Even if “everybody wants him,” Bellingham can only choose one. Whichever club he decides on will have one of the word’s best midfielders for the next 10 to 15 years.