Fresh claims emerge on Jobe Bellingham's Sunderland future involving Borussia Dortmund & Frankfurt | OneFootball

Reports in the German media are suggesting that Borussia Dortmund could be ready to make a move for Jobe Bellingham this week.

Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund are ready to finalise a deal for Sunderland starlet Jobe Bellingham, with the Black Cats' promotion to the Premier League not impacting their move for the teenager - but he is also set to visit Eintracht Frankfurt.

Bellingham played a role in Sunderland's dramatic 2-1 win against Sheffield United in the EFL Championship play-off final on Saturday afternoon, a result which returned the Black Cats to the top flight of English football following an absence of eight years.

There has been speculation about where the younger brother of the England international Jude would end up for most of the season, with a move to Germany expected over a move to another Premier League club on account of the success that the Real Madrid star had there.

Borussia Dortmund set to make Jobe Bellingham move this week as £25m fee mooted

As per German news outlet Bild, former Bundesliga champions Dortmund are readying to make their move for Jobe Bellingham.

Bild report that talks between all parties up to now have been "fruitful", and despite Bellingham now officially being a Premier League player, it looks as though the 19-year-old will make the next step in a career that is beginning to take off.

There had been reports last week that Eintracht Frankfurt were also ready to enter the race for Bellingham's signature, but Monday's reporting makes no reference to anybody else seriously being considered.

The family connection with Dortmund seems to have paid dividends. This is a club which, after all, has an outstanding reputation for developing young players in the recent past, with Jude Bellingham going on to become a worldwide superstar at Real Madrid after moving in 2023.

Bild report that no small part of the appeal of this particular player is "his exemplary character".

The report claims that the club are "considering immediately entrusting the young Brit with leadership responsibilities", and that Bellingham has "a more developed personality than his brother Jude (21) had at the same age".

In a further update though from Sky Sport Germany's Florian Plettenberg, Eintracht Frankfurt have emerged as a serious challenger for Bellingham's services.

The teenager will reportedly visit the club - who finished third in the Bundesliga this season - on Monday to get a feel for the place, with Dino Toppmoller's side very much still in the running for his services.

Like Dortmund, Frankfurt will play UEFA Champions League football in 2025-26, which could see them very much as an equal when it comes to their chances of a potential £25 million deal for the midfielder.

Bellingham has had an outstanding season with Sunderland, as his team defied the odds to win promotion to the Premier League with their play-off final win.

Figures from Footystats

But it seems as though the pull of the Bundesliga is going to be too strong for the 19-year-old, and this is unsurprising. His older brother Jude followed a similar trajectory to spectacular success.

He left a Championship club, Birmingham City, for Dortmund in 2020 and for a similar transfer fee of £25 million.

He won the DFB-Pokal in his first season there before moving on to Real Madrid in 2023 for a fee that topped £115 million with add-ons, and won La Liga and the Champions League in his first season there. He was also voted their Player of the Year.

Birmingham made an extra £6 million from this sale, according to reports. Sunderland will be hoping that the younger brother can deliver similar results for them in the future, and Jobe Bellingham will be hoping that he can hit the heights that his brother did, as a result of moving from the Championship to the Bundesliga.