REAL MADRID are set to accelerate their move for Jude Bellingham, according to reports in Spain.
The Borussia Dortmund midfielder is wanted by elite clubs all over Europe, having impressed for England at the World Cup.
Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are all jostling for the teenage sensation.
But Madrid want to muscle their way to the front of the queue.
According to this morning’s edition of Marca, the LaLiga champions are set to move quickly to sign the former Birmingham City prodigy.
They ran with the front page headline: “Acceleration for Bellingham”.
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A previous report from the Madrid-based paper claimed that Real asked the 19-year-old not to extend his Dortmund contract in a bid to make a move easier.
Bellingham’s current deal with the Bundesliga club runs until 2025.
And it reportedly contains a previously unknown £60million release clause – which could be particularly bad news for Chelsea.
The Blues are willing to splash whatever it takes to sign Bellingham, even if the fee is north of £100m.
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But a £60m fee brings other suitors with less deep pockets back into the race.
Bellingham is claimed in some quarters to favour a move to Liverpool – having already built up strong relationships with England team-mates Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson.
The midfielder is the Reds’ No1 target, after they sealed a £37m deal to sign Cody Gakpo from PSV earlier this week.
Since England’s elimination from the World Cup, Bellingham has been enjoying some downtime back in Blighty.
He made an emotional return to St Andrew’s to watch his beloved Birmingham City and say a proper goodbye to their fans.
While he also visited Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.
Bellingham, 19, was most recently spotted at Turf Moor watching his brother Jobe in action for Birmingham against Burnley last night.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk