Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham has reportedly already ruled out a move to Chelsea or Paris Saint-Germain in the summer transfer window.
Speculation surrounding the 19-year-old's future is dominating the talk of the transfer market, with a number of top European clubs queuing up to present offers.
Bellingham remains under contract at the Westfalenstadion until 2025, though, and Dortmund have not given up hope of tying him down to a new deal.
Dortmund director Sebastian Kehl recently revealed that his side had not received any offers for the teenager, telling reporters: "I can't say today if and when that will be the case with Jude, and from a purely sporting point of view I would be stupid to want to give up Jude Bellingham.
"We'll talk to him and his parents in due course. There is currently no pressure. Jude wants to concentrate fully on football. And by the way, there are no offers at all."
However, there is a consensus that the England international will depart the German giants at the end of the season, and he will certainly not be short of suitors.
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Chelsea have unsurprisingly been linked with a move, while PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi confirmed his desire to bring Bellingham to Paris back in December.
"Everybody wants him, I'm not going to hide it. He's at his club, and (we have) respect, so if we want to talk to him we'll talk to the club first," Al-Khelaifi told Sky Sports News during the World Cup.
However, according to Sport1 - via the Evening Standard - Bellingham has already decided that he will not be joining Chelsea or the French champions should he depart Dortmund in a few months' time.
Chelsea paid a British record fee of £106.8m to sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in January, though, and it would have been a surprise to see the Blues break the bank to sign £130m-rated Bellingham as well.
Nevertheless, Graham Potter's side sold Jorginho to Arsenal on deadline day and could lose N'Golo Kante on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of the season, so a new midfielder could be high on Chelsea's agenda over the summer.
Meanwhile, PSG reinforced their midfield ranks considerably last summer with the signings of Vitinha, Carlos Soler, Renato Sanches and Fabian Ruiz, while Marco Verratti has also agreed a new contract until the summer of 2026.
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With Chelsea and PSG supposedly out of the race, the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United have been handed boosts in their efforts to sign Bellingham, although Dortmund are ready to offer him a yearly salary of £13.3m to tie him down to fresh terms.
Bellingham is still weighing up his options, but Real Madrid supposedly feel that they cannot financially compete with Premier League clubs and believe that he will end up back in England.
However, Liverpool's hopes of signing Bellingham will be damaged if they fail to qualify for the Champions League, while Man City have been charged with over 100 alleged financial breaches by the Premier League.
The champions reportedly plan to go about their transfer business as normal while they fight the accusations, but Bellingham may now have fresh reservations about moving to the Etihad Stadium.
The former Birmingham City youngster has posted 10 goals and six assists in 26 games this season, taking his total for Dortmund to 20 goals and 24 assists in 116 outings since joining in 2020.
Ben Knapton
