Dortmund look to have beaten off competition from their league rivals Eintracht Frankfurt and Leipzig, with multiple sources in Germany saying Bellingham has made his mind up on his preferred next club after talks and considerations over the course of the last week.
But Dortmund must now agree a deal with Sunderland, with one fresh report on Monday night claiming the Black Cats have a release clause of €40m, which is just under £34m.
Bellingham’s former club Birmingham City would be due a slice of cash having inserted a sell-on clause when the midfielder moved to Sunderland two years ago. That’s understood to be in the region of 15%.
Dortmund are now likely to push to seal the Bellingham deal ahead of the first summer transfer deadline on June 10, which comes just four days before the start of the Club World Cup, which the German club are participating in.
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Frankfurt were hoping to beat their Bundesliga rivals to the capture of the midfielder after flying the teenager out to Germany for talks and a visit just two days after Sunderland’s play-off final victory over Sheffield United.
Bellingham then headed to Ibiza for a holiday with his older brother Jude and pals last week, where he was said to have been joined by Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl, who presented another sales pitch after initial talks earlier in May.
And Jobe is now said to have made clear his desire to follow in his brother’s footsteps and move to Dortmund this summer.
Sunderland are unlikely to stand in Bellingham’s way if he wants the move but will only sanction his exit if their valuation or the release clause is met.
