Dortmund move ahead in the pecking order for Jobe Bellingham with Sunderland accepting their fate of losing him.
Dortmund move ahead of the teams interested in signing Sunderland youngster Jobe Bellingham.
After helping Sunderland make their first Premier League appearance since 2017, the 19-year-old has attracted a lot of interest throughout Europe.
The German team, however, thinks they are now in a strong position to sign Bellingham.
Although they haven’t started negotiations with Sunderland yet, they have heard clear signals that Bellingham wants to join them, much like his brother Jude, and they think a deal will be struck shortly.
Dortmund’s successful season finale has significantly improved their negotiating position.
Dortmund was 10 points outside of a top-four position in the Bundesliga with eight games remaining, in 11th place.
To finish fourth and guarantee a spot in the Champions League the next season, they won seven of their remaining games and drew the other one against eventual champions Bayern Munich.
Jude Bellingham, who joined Dortmund from Birmingham City in 2020, played 132 games during his three-year stay, helping the team win the German Cup in 2021 with Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho.
He did not, however, win the Bundesliga title right before moving to Real Madrid in 2023. On the last day of the 2022–23 season, he was hurt and watched the team draw with Mainz, when a win would have made Dortmund champions for the first time in eleven years.
Five years after Jude’s victory, Jobe Bellingham was voted the Championship’s Young Player of the Year last month.
Prior to helping Sunderland defeat Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final, he was also nominated to the Championship team of the season.