Real Madrid believe they are closing in on an agreement to sign Jude Bellingham following a key meeting with his father at the weekend, 90min understands.
The 19-year-old has quickly emerged as one of the world’s elite midfielders ever since his move to Borussia Dortmund in 2020.
His future has been the hot topic of discussion all season long, with Real Madrid mainly competing against Manchester City and Liverpool for his signature.
90min reported in April that Liverpool had cooled their interest in Bellingham this year, leaving Real Madrid and Man City in the race, while Borussia Dortmund still had hope that he could sign a new contract with a fair release clause.
But sources have now confirmed to 90min that after a meeting between Bellingham’s father and Real Madrid chief scout Juni Calafat on Monday, the midfielder is close to reaching an agreement to head to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Calafat has been responsible for the recruitment of some Real Madrid’s brightest young stars in recent years, including Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Eder Militao, Endrick and now Bellingham.
Real Madrid’s pursuit of Bellingham is part of the reason why contract talks have slowed with fellow midfielder Luka Modric, who is likely to see his chances limited by the Englishman’s arrival.
Los Blancos have already agreed terms over a new deal with Toni Kroos and he is likely to be the only veteran out-of-contract midfielder to stay in the Spanish capital.
Borussia Dortmund will still crucially demand a club-record fee in order to sell Bellingham this summer – this figure stands at over €144m, which Barcelona paid to sign Ousmane Dembele in 2017.
In Bellingham’s place, BVB are set to bring in Daichi Kamada on a free transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt.
