Real Madrid 'hoping to secure Jude Bellingham deal by start of June'

Real Madrid are reportedly hoping to secure Jude Bellingham's signature by the start of June.

Los Blancos have emerged as the clear favourites for the England international, with both Liverpool and Manchester City now believed to be out of the race to sign him from Borussia Dortmund.

Los Blancos have allegedly already agreed personal terms with the 19-year-old, but they are yet to settle on a transfer fee with Dortmund, who have been battling to keep hold of him.

According to The Mirror, Real Madrid have accelerated their pursuit of Bellingham following their Champions League semi-final exit to Manchester City last week.

The report claims that Los Blancos directors are preparing to meet with Dortmund to discuss a transfer fee, with the Bundesliga giants potentially demanding as much as £120m.

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Carlo Ancelotti's side are allegedly hopeful of coming to a full agreement with both BVB and Bellingham before the start of June, with an official announcement also potentially arriving over the next couple of weeks.

Bellingham has been in excellent form for Dortmund during the 2022-23 campaign, scoring 14 goals and registering seven assists in 42 appearances in all competitions.

The midfielder scored four goals and registered one assist in seven Champions League appearances this season, while he has eight goals and five assists in 31 Bundesliga outings.

Bellingham is bidding to help his side win the Bundesliga title this season, with Dortmund currently sitting one point behind leaders Bayern Munich in the table on the same number of games (32).

The youngster made the move to BVB from Birmingham City in July 2020, and he has represented the German club on 132 occasions, scoring 24 goals and registering 25 assists in the process.

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Speaking during his press conference on Saturday, Real Madrid head coach Ancelotti said that the club were entering a transitional period, with Bellingham set to play a leading role for the team moving forward.

"This transition has already begun, before I arrived. This squad, which has achieved great things, extraordinary things, started to lose pieces, like Cristiano [Ronaldo] in 2018. Young players of great quality have started to arrive," the Italian told reporters.

"When I arrived, the transition continued, with [Raphael] Varane, [Sergio] Ramos, Marcelo, [Gareth] Bale, Isco... Last year Vinicius [Junior] was more prominent and now he's an undisputed starter; last year, too, [Eduardo] Camavinga, Rodrygo, [Eder] Militao, [Federico] Valverde... [Aurelien] Tchouameni has been undisputed for the first part of the season.

"The transition has already started and will continue next season. The youngsters will be more important than the veterans. The transition will stop when [Luka] Modric, [Toni] Kroos, [Karim] Benzema, [Dani] Carvajal are no longer at Madrid."

As well as Liverpool and Man City, Manchester United and Chelsea have allegedly been competing for Bellingham's signature, but he is now set to make a big-money move to Bernabeu.