Real Madrid could reportedly put plans to sign Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham on ice until the end of next season.
The 19-year-old's future is already dominating the talk of the transfer market ahead of this summer's window, as multiple clubs prepare to test Dortmund's resolve with nine-figure bids.
Real Madrid are believed to have been one of the frontrunners to sign Bellingham this summer, with Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United also in the picture.
A recent report claimed that Bellingham was one of two names at the top of the La Liga and Champions League winners' shortlist for the summer window, the other being RB Leipzig centre-back Josko Gvardiol.
However, AS states that Bellingham's future is currently in limbo, as he has not yet sat down with Dortmund to discuss his plans for the future, despite the expectation that a meeting would have been held by now.
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With no official dialogue on the matter, the report adds that Real Madrid may instead launch their assault in 2024, when Bellingham would only have one year left on his Dortmund contract.
Los Blancos lost Casemiro to Manchester United last summer, and the long-serving duo of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric are both due to become free agents at the end of the season.
However, Modric has confirmed his desire to sign a new deal at the Bernabeu, while Kroos could also be rewarded for his continued importance to Carlo Ancelotti with fresh terms.
Should interested parties wish to prise Bellingham away from Dortmund this summer, the German giants would expect a fee in excess of £130m, but Real see no need to raise such a figure if Modric and Kroos commit their short-term futures to the club.
A deal for Bellingham in 2024 would be a far cheaper operation for Real Madrid, who also have Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, Dani Ceballos and Eduardo Camavinga in their existing midfield ranks.
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When recently questioned about Bellingham's future at the Westfalenstadion, Dortmund director Sebastian Kehl pointed to the two years left on the teenager's contract and insisted that he feels "very happy" in the Bundesliga.
"Jude feels very, very comfortable at Borussia Dortmund. But we still haven't had any new talks or received any offers for him. He still has two more years on his contract and is a very important piece of this team," AS quotes Kehl as saying.
"We need Jude to achieve the objectives this season and we are glad that he is so focused on football and that there is no room for other matters in his head at the moment."
Since arriving from Birmingham City as a 16-year-old in 2020, Bellingham has registered 20 goals and 24 assists in 120 matches for Dortmund across all competitions, including 10 goals and six assists from 30 games this season.
Should the England international leave in the summer, Edin Terzic's side are believed to have identified a couple of possible replacements, including Liverpool's Naby Keita and Borussia Monchengladbach's Kouadio Kone.
Ben Knapton
