CHELSEA are planning to beat Manchester United in the race to sign £30million-rated Jude Bellingham from Birmingham City.
The Blues are ready to step up their interest in the 16-year-old wonderkid and according to the Daily Mail, they are ready to meet the valuation.
Bellingham has caught the attention of some of Europe’s top clubs after his breakthrough this season, with Borussia Dortmund and United keen to sign the youngster, who is on £145-per-week.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is an admirer of Bellingham and is keen to get a deal done, but is set to face tough competition from Frank Lampard.
Sam Manoochehri, an ex-development coach at Birmingham, believes United would be a good fit for the promising talent.
Manoochehri told the Mirror: “Man United, it might be a nice fit for Jude, with a rejuvenated team, talk of Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish going over there.
“But Dortmund would also suit, the recent profile of players that have come through that system, the likes of Jadon Sancho.
“Jude would fit that mould too.
“And look at what’s going on at Chelsea now.
“A lot of good young players in that team.”
Bellingham could follow Sancho’s lead with a move to Dortmund, a club renowned for developing promising players.
Sancho left Manchester City for Dortmund in 2017 and has developed into one of the world’s best players, which has attracted interest from United and Chelsea.
Chelsea are likely to have a busy summer transfer window as Lampard looks to freshen his side up.
Olivier Giroud, Michy Batshuayi and Kepa Arrizabalaga are all considering moves away from Stamford Bridge as the Chelsea boss aims to get his side challenging for the title again.
Both Solskjaer and Lampard have given plenty of chances to younger players coming through the academy systems, with Mason Greenwood, Brandon Williams, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham all enjoying long spells in their starting line-ups.
