Borussia Dortmund are looking to replace their superstar midfielder, Jude Bellingham, who parted ways with the club earlier this month.
In a groundbreaking move, the 19-year-old joined Real Madrid for a whopping £113 million, signing a six-year contract, while also taking over Zinedine Zidane’s old shirt number, five.
The German club initially acquired the English midfielder from Birmingham City in 2020 for £25 million, but after three years Edin Terzic’s side have now cashed in a whopping £88 million on the midfielder.
Dortmund are now in a very difficult situation as they search for a suitable replacement for Bellingham, who made 132 appearances and scored 24 goals in all competitions for the side.
Although they narrowly missed out on the Bundesliga title this season, Bellingham played a key role in his side’s success. He made 42 appearances in all competitions, scoring 14 goals and providing seven assists, even leading the team as their captain on several occasions.
Borussia Dortmund are looking for a replacement for star midfielder Jude Bellingham (left)
Bellingham signed for Real Madrid last week in a £113 million milestone that will see him stay at the club for six years
Edin Terzic is reportedly looking for an out of favor Chelsea star to replace the 19-year-old
It seems that Premier League midfielders are currently in high demand, with Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo and Mason Mount all linked with moves at their current clubs.
But Terzic’s side have identified disgraced Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher as their main target to succeed Jude Bellingham in the center of the park.
That’s according to BILD journalist Christian Falkwho claimed Dortmund’s interest in the England youngster “is concrete and has been for months”.
Gallagher has attracted a lot of attention in recent years as a young up and coming prospect who can play as both a deep-lying midfielder and step up to a more advanced position.
A host of English clubs have expressed interest in the Chelsea academy graduate, with Tottenham, Newcastle and Liverpool all linked with the 23-year-old.
It’s because Dortmund had previously inquired about Gallagher, but failed to bid for the £50m rated star. Mail Sport understands that while he is not a player who would like to leave Chelsea’s key players, they could if the right offer comes in. enticing them to say goodbye to the midfielder.
Speaking of Dortmund’s interest in Gallagher, Falke wrote in a column for CaughtOffside: “The interest in Conor Gallagher is very concrete and has been going on for months.”
“Now they see they need a player like Jude Bellingham, not just playing like Bellingham, but showing he can play like a 6, 8 or 10. Dortmund sees these things in Gallagher.”
He added: ‘The contract runs until 2025, so they can afford him. They have the money from the transfer to Bellingham and they also see that – given his age of 23 – he is not too old to be an investment. So this is very realistic for Dortmund.’
Notably, Chelsea received a £45 million bid from Everton for the midfielder in January, but it’s been a troublesome season for him, with him largely failing to cement his place in the team’s starting eleven.
Dortmund have identified ‘Conor Gallagher’ (pictured) as a potential replacement for Bellingham
The England midfielder has caught the attention of many clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle, Liverpool and Everton
Gallagher (right) has struggled to cement himself as a regular starter for Chelsea this season, but has recently taken part in three of England’s European Championship qualifiers
Mason Mount could be another Cheleseas academy graduate to leave the club this summer
It comes amid Chelsea’s big summer fire sale, with Mail Sport reporting in April that their homegrown talent could be one of many players to leave the club.
Fellow graduate of their Cobham academy, Mason Mount, also appears to be nearing a move to leave the club.
Meanwhile, Kai Havertz is on the verge of a £65 million move to Arsenal, while N’Golo Kante is already a member of Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad.
Kalidou Koulibaly, Hakim Ziyech could follow him to the Middle East, while Matteo Kovacic has agreed a £25 million transfer to Manchester City.