Arsenal are set for another big summer of spending ahead of their imminent return to the UEFA Champions League, and one name who is set to dominate the airwaves in the market is Jude Bellingham.
The Borussia Dortmund star is set to leave Germany in what could be one of the biggest transfers in the history of the sport, with the Bundesliga side believed to have set an asking price of €150m (£130m) for the England international.
Up until now, Liverpool had been viewed as the favourites to sign the 19-year-old. However, news broke last night from the Times, and then everywhere, that the Reds had ended their pursuit for Bellingham, and minds around the Arsenal fanbase then collectively woke up.
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We first have to state the obvious in the room, there’s a more than likely chance that Arsenal don’t sign Bellingham this summer. Whilst the Gunners have the appeal and potentially the funds, concrete links connecting the two just haven’t been there, yet that shouldn’t stop us from thinking such a transfer could actually happen.
However, as reported by journalist Dean Jones, Arsenal are willing to spend over £100m this summer to make their squad as ready for the Champions League as possible. And for many supporters and experts, the midfield is the key position Mikel Arteta wants to add to in the market.
Indeed, whilst Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo are the two names that have been linked the heaviest to Arsenal, what’s to stop the Gunners from now adding Bellingham to their transfer shortlist? Especially with Liverpool now clearly out of the picture for the Dortmund superstar.
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With Granit Xhaka one of two midfielders in need of a long-term successor, it’s hard to picture a more ideal signing than Bellingham, who at 19 is already one of the best in his position and a player who could thrive under Arteta’s coaching at London Colney.
Moreover, with the Arsenal boss also making a clear effort to maintain and add an English core to the Gunners’ senior team, adding a potential Three Lions captain to the mix will be a move that the likes of Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale will approve of.
The odds of Arsenal signing Bellingham are still low to even consider realistic. However, stranger things have happened, and if Stan Kroenke wants to take the Gunners to the next level, the American could free up funds for Arteta to go out there and land the best young midfielder football has seen in quite some time.