Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is ‘genuinely in awe’ of Jude Bellingham and wants to lure the Borussia Dortmund star to the Etihad Stadium, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.
The Citizens spent more than £125million during the summer window, but Guardiola will be given the opportunity to splash the cash once again at the turn of the year.
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What’s the latest news involving Bellingham?
Guardiola was not afraid to highlight his admiration for Bellingham earlier this week as he described the central midfielder as ‘the whole package’ who has a ‘special’ mentality.
The 19-year-old showed Manchester City what he is capable of when he played the full 90 minutes as current employers Dortmund held the reigning Premier League champions to a goalless draw in their Champions League group stage clash on Tuesday.
According to The Sun, Manchester City are convinced that Bellingham will head to the Etihad Stadium if he leaves the Bundesliga giants in the coming months.
The report suggests the 17-cap England international will be allowed to leave Dortmund for £83million if one of his suitors are willing to pay the fee upfront during next summer’s transfer window.
CBS reporter Ben Jacobs has previously told GIVEMESPORT that Manchester City are looking to gain the upper-hand in the race for Bellingham through former team-mate Erling Haaland, who has held personal discussions over a potential switch.
Read more: Champions League 2022/23: Fixtures, Draw, Dates, Schedule, Final, Teams and Everything We Know So Far
What has Dean Jones said about Bellingham?
Jones believes Guardiola is a huge fan of Bellingham and his comments on the World Cup-bound star was not a case of mind games ahead of Manchester City taking on Dortmund in midweek.
The journalist feels the former Barcelona chief’s admiration means a move to the Etihad Stadium could eventually be on the cards.
Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “I just think that Guardiola is genuinely in awe of this guy in some ways.
“When he sees players with legitimate ability, he is willing to praise them. There’s no doubt he rates him.”
Which other clubs are looking to sign Bellingham?
According to the Daily Mail, Real Madrid will attempt to beat Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United to Bellingham’s services.
The report suggests Dortmund are pessimistic about their chances of getting him to commit his long-term future to the club after entering the final three years of his £49,000-per-week contract.
Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester United hoped to strike a deal before summer transfer deadline, but Dortmund were unwilling to sanction Bellingham’s departure at that stage.
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