Borussia Dortmund ready to initiate January transfer swoop for Sunderland AFC man | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund are rumoured to hold an interest in Jobe Bellingham

Borussia Dortmund are keen on a January transfer swoop for Sunderland starlet Jobe Bellingham - a year-and-a-half after selling his older brother Jude to Real Madrid.

That's according to Alan Nixon via his Patreon account, who claims that the German outfit want to emulate their deal with Birminhgam City in 2020 by taking a punt on his mini-me.

The timing is certainly less than ideal for Sunderland, who in the midst of a Championship promotion push, can ill-afford to lose one of their best players in the middle of the campaign.

The Black Cats' promotion hopes hit another bump in the road on Saturday when they let slip a 2-0 lead in a 2-2 draw against Coventry City, but Regis Le Bris' side remain top of the pile heading into the international break.

Sunderland have had to go without Bellingham for their last two matches as he's in the midst of serving a three-match suspension, and that's something Dortmund won't be best pleased, about as they are believed to have been planning to send one of their top scouts to cast a close eye over the youngster.

Jobe Bellingham of interest to Borussia Dortmund ahead of January window

Sunderland will have to fight off a bit of sentiment in this deal too, as Jobe's brother earned his stripes at Dortmund before heading off to Real Madrid.

Regis Le Bris will almost certainly feel nervous that one of his star men could follow suit, and while the step up from the Championship to the Bundesliga is a big one, it's one that has recently already been done by a teenage sensation, so that likely won't be of concern to all parties involved.

It's evidently one Dortmund feel he's capable of making too, on the basis they were going to send a top scout to watch him play against Preston North End in midweek, and the German side have historically shown that they will put faith in young English talent.

Signing Bellingham would require yet another huge show of faith as Sunderland are believed to want a fee of £20 million, although according to Nixon, that's one Dortmund are willing to pay to land one of their top targets.

It's a fee not too dissimilar to the one they paid for brother Jude in 2020 (£25m), and that one worked out pretty well for them, so it's understandable why the German giants will have no hesitation in stumping up the cash.

Sunderland would be silly to sell Jobe Bellingham mid-season

Selling mid-season is never ideal for any club, and for those buying, it usually means having to stump up extra money to compensate for the inopportune time at which you're taking someone else's player.

But for Sunderland, January couldn't possibly be any more inopportune as they hold a fantastic chance at getting promoted this season, and considering they haven't played in the top-flight since 2017/18, it's a chance they can't pass up lightly.

They're playing some fantatsic football under Regis Le Bris, and they've had the results to match, but it's no coincidence that results have tailed off a little in the midst of Bellingham's ban.

That's further evidence that selling in January could prove fatal to their promotion hopes, and while £20m would represent a healthy profit on the near £3m investment they initially made in June 2023, its small fry compared to the riches of the Premier League.

They can at least fall back on the fact Bellingham signed a new deal with the club over the summer, which keeps him in the North East until 2028, so even if a move doesn't materialise in January, they could still fetch a similar figure in the summer when they know what league they're playing in.