Dortmund have yet to hold formal talks with Sunderland but are confident they are in pole position to sign the player. Strong signals from Bellingham’s camp have indicated that he is keen to follow in the footsteps of his older brother Jude, who moved to the same club as a teenager.

Champions League Qualification Aids Dortmund’s Standing
Dortmund have seen their chances of pulling off the deal enhanced by a stunning end to their Bundesliga campaign. With eight games left, the team was 11th and 10 points off the top four. They subsequently won seven and drew one — against future champions Bayern Munich — to end the season in fourth and clinch a place in next season’s Champions League.

Bellingham joined Dortmund from Birmingham City in 2020 and made 132 appearances across three seasons, claiming the German Cup in 2021 with Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho. He departed for Real Madrid in 2023 after agonizingly falling short of the Bundesliga title the season before.

Club World Cup and international appearances at stake
Jobe Bellingham was won the Young Player of the Year for the Championship - five year after his older brother was awarded the same prize. Should Dortmund complete the signing before 10 June, he could feature in the forthcoming Club World Cup in the US (14 June-13 July), where Real Madrid - Jude’s current club - will compete.

Jobe has also been capped four times by England under-21s and is in their squad for the European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia, which runs from 11 until 28 June. The Three Lions U21 manager has maintained that players will be allowed to leave for the Club World Cup if necessary in a blow which would see him lose some of his star men while in action.

He also expressed the need to stand by players in transfers and that a full squad is good, but the team must remain flexible as clubs and national teams come calling.