Borussia Dortmund confident they have won the race to sign Jobe Bellingham from Sunderland
Borussia Dortmund are confident they have won the race for Sunderland midfielder Jobe Bellingham.
Sources at the Bundesliga club say the 19-year old has given his word to join after holding talks with sport director Sebastian Kehl in Ibiza last week.
The fee is expected to be around £25million with his previous club Birmingham City due a 15 per cent cut.
Bellingham met with Eintracht Frankfurt last week and also spoke to RB Leipzig.
However, Dortmund always believed they had an advantage offering him the same pathway his older brother Jude took.
Bellingham won promotion to the Premier League with Sunderland last month but was set on a move to the Bundesliga for the next stage in his development.
Jude Bellingham spoke glowingly about his experience in Germany and that has played a big part in the family's thinking.
Dortmund finished fourth in the Bundesliga this season, earning a spot in the Champions League.
They will also compete in the expanded FIFA Club World Cup this summer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wales Online
15 minutes ago
- Wales Online
How to watch Germany v Portugal on TV tonight - channel and kick-off time
How to watch Germany v Portugal on TV tonight - channel and kick-off time Germany and Portugal face off in the first of the Nations League semi-finals this evening Germany and Portugal face off at the Munich Football Arena (Image: Maja Hitij - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images ) As we reach the business end of this year's Nations League, two of the most talented sides in Europe, Germany and Portugal, go head to head in pursuit of international glory in the first semi-final of the competition. This pair of great footballing nations clash at the Allianz Arena in Munich as both teams compete for the chance to reach the final to face France or Spain, who play tomorrow night. The Germans, who are looking to win the trophy in their back yard, knocked out Italy in the last round to reach a first Nations League last four. Robert Martinez's squad brushed passed Denmark back in March to book their place in the semis. This is a Portuguese side who have experience in winning the competition, with Cristiano Ronaldo leading his side to a Nations League win in 2019. Here is everything you need to know.... Article continues below What time does the match kick-off? Germany v Portugal kick-off is at 8pm (UK time) on Wednesday, June 4, at the Allianz Arena in Munich. How to watch the match? In the UK, fans of each country and football enthusiasts can watch the match live on Amazon Prime Video, with PPV available at £2.49 if you are not an Amazon Prime subscriber. New customers to Amazon Prime Video will need to create an account before being able to watch the game. Germany v Portugal team news For the Germans, Julian Nagelsmann will be without team regular Jamal Musiala, who has been injured since the game against Augsburg on April 4. Real Madrid's Antionio Rüdiger also misses out with injury, so too does Nico Schlotterbeck and Angelo Stiller. However, Marc-Andre ter Stegen is available and will start in goal, Nagelsmann has confirmed. Article continues below Portugal are slightly more fortunate with their injuries, with only Joao Cancelo unavailable. Martinez is likely to keep faith with the group that started the last round of Nations League matches, although he has brought Pedro Goncalves back into the squad and 18-year-old Rodrigo Mora has also been given his first call-up.
The National
23 minutes ago
- The National
Claiming career bragging rights from father Allan driving Max Johnston
Would the McGinn boys Stephen, Paul and John, for example, have scaled the heights which they have in football if they hadn't spent their formative years trying to outdo each other on the public parks of Duntocher? Having that healthy familial competition from an early age unquestionably aided their development. But can wanting to better a parent's accomplishments drive on an aspiring professional athlete too? In the case of Max Johnston, the gifted young Sturm Graz right-back who is hoping to win his second cap for Scotland in the friendly international against Iceland at Hampden on Friday night, it has been a definite factor in his rise. Read more: Johnston stressed that his father Allan, the former Hearts, Rennes, Sunderland, Rangers, Middlesbrough, Kilmarnock, St Mirren and Queen of the South winger, has been a huge influence on his career when he chatted to the media yesterday. However, he readily admitted that he takes a certain satisfaction eclipsing his old man's feats on the field of play. "You need to get the bragging rights, don't you?' he said with a grin. Johnston was a regular starter for Graz at home and abroad during the 2024/25 season and helped them to retain the Austrian Bundesliga title on a thrilling final day last month. It was a cause for a double celebration for the defender. 'My dad only won one league title in his career (he was a member of the Sunderland side which won the English First Division in 1999),' he said. 'So I've already beaten him on that one. (Image: Andrew Milligan) 'I am so lucky to have grown up with someone who has been involved in the game. He has been a huge help to me, my mum as well. He has definitely helped me with advice about international football as well. He got 18 caps for Scotland so I have got some way to go to beat him. But it's definitely something I want to do.' What a way for Johnston Jnr to thank the guy who was instrumental in his move to Austria and who went to extraordinary lengths to see him make his debut for his country in the first leg of the Nations League promotion/relegation play-off in Greece back in March. "My dad had a time in France when he was a similar age to me when he left Hearts,' he said. 'I was lucky enough that I got to ask him for a bit of advice on how he managed to deal with moving abroad. He's been a really big help and he really pushed me to do it. "He was telling me that sometimes you just need to take a chance. There's always going to be competition no matter what club you are at or where you play your football. There's always going to be competition, but sometimes you just need to be brave enough to take that step and work your way into the team. I think that's what I've done. "But I think I was more excited than nervous that I had the opportunity to go out and try something different. You see how well the other boys over in Italy had done at that time. They had a lot of success, so for me it was a great opportunity. "It's a reality shock when you know you're not going to have dinners made for you and you're coming home from training. But, no, it's something that I've really enjoyed the whole process of.' Read more: Playing for Graz in both the Bundesliga and Champions League has improved the full-back greatly as a player and Scotland manager Steve Clarke handed him his international debut in Piraeus earlier this year. His father was in the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium when he made his late substitute appearance against Greece. "I think my dad got three flights to get over just for the game,' said Johnston. 'I'm very grateful that I've got him on my side and I'm just lucky that he got to see it.' The 21-year-old, who moved to Graz from Motherwell for a £300,000 transfer fee back in 2023, considers himself fortunate to be playing in Austria and has, despite fevered speculation about his future, no plans to move on. "I really enjoy Austria,' he said. 'I think it's been great for me. I'm contracted for another two years over there and I'm really enjoying it. But obviously as a player, there's a level I want to reach, so we'll see what happens. "The club's been really good to me since I went over. They really helped me out, helped me settle in when I first got over. It's good, we've got a good changing room as well. The boys are quite close and we spend a lot of time together. (Image: Andrew Milligan) "The fans are amazing. When you experience winning the double last year and winning the league this year, you just see how much it means to the fans. The city's amazing to be fair. "This year we had a big stage just outside the stadium and we just went and saw the fans for a bit. It was amazing, one day I'll never forget. I don't know how many fans were there, but it was a lot of people.' Being involved in the Champions League league phase matches against Brest and Lille of France, Club Brugge of Belgium, Sporting Lisbon of Portugal and Borussia Dortmund of Germany were also, despite the narrow losses which Graz suffered in all of them, highlights of his season. Johnston - who had loan spells at Queen of the South, where his father was manager, and Cove Rangers when he was a young player at Motherwell – believes that facing that level of European opposition will help him deal with the demands of the international game. "I have played in the Champions League this season,' he said. 'That's the stage you want to be on. I'm extremely grateful that I got to experience that. As a club we'll definitely be looking to do that again. You need to play in these games and learn new experiences and little things you need to work on. It will do me the world of good when it comes to play for Scotland.'
The Herald Scotland
28 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Claiming career bragging rights from father Allan driving Max Johnston
Having that healthy familial competition from an early age unquestionably aided their development. But can wanting to better a parent's accomplishments drive on an aspiring professional athlete too? In the case of Max Johnston, the gifted young Sturm Graz right-back who is hoping to win his second cap for Scotland in the friendly international against Iceland at Hampden on Friday night, it has been a definite factor in his rise. Read more: Johnston stressed that his father Allan, the former Hearts, Rennes, Sunderland, Rangers, Middlesbrough, Kilmarnock, St Mirren and Queen of the South winger, has been a huge influence on his career when he chatted to the media yesterday. However, he readily admitted that he takes a certain satisfaction eclipsing his old man's feats on the field of play. "You need to get the bragging rights, don't you?' he said with a grin. Johnston was a regular starter for Graz at home and abroad during the 2024/25 season and helped them to retain the Austrian Bundesliga title on a thrilling final day last month. It was a cause for a double celebration for the defender. 'My dad only won one league title in his career (he was a member of the Sunderland side which won the English First Division in 1999),' he said. 'So I've already beaten him on that one. (Image: Andrew Milligan) 'I am so lucky to have grown up with someone who has been involved in the game. He has been a huge help to me, my mum as well. He has definitely helped me with advice about international football as well. He got 18 caps for Scotland so I have got some way to go to beat him. But it's definitely something I want to do.' What a way for Johnston Jnr to thank the guy who was instrumental in his move to Austria and who went to extraordinary lengths to see him make his debut for his country in the first leg of the Nations League promotion/relegation play-off in Greece back in March. "My dad had a time in France when he was a similar age to me when he left Hearts,' he said. 'I was lucky enough that I got to ask him for a bit of advice on how he managed to deal with moving abroad. He's been a really big help and he really pushed me to do it. "He was telling me that sometimes you just need to take a chance. There's always going to be competition no matter what club you are at or where you play your football. There's always going to be competition, but sometimes you just need to be brave enough to take that step and work your way into the team. I think that's what I've done. "But I think I was more excited than nervous that I had the opportunity to go out and try something different. You see how well the other boys over in Italy had done at that time. They had a lot of success, so for me it was a great opportunity. "It's a reality shock when you know you're not going to have dinners made for you and you're coming home from training. But, no, it's something that I've really enjoyed the whole process of.' Read more: Playing for Graz in both the Bundesliga and Champions League has improved the full-back greatly as a player and Scotland manager Steve Clarke handed him his international debut in Piraeus earlier this year. His father was in the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium when he made his late substitute appearance against Greece. "I think my dad got three flights to get over just for the game,' said Johnston. 'I'm very grateful that I've got him on my side and I'm just lucky that he got to see it.' The 21-year-old, who moved to Graz from Motherwell for a £300,000 transfer fee back in 2023, considers himself fortunate to be playing in Austria and has, despite fevered speculation about his future, no plans to move on. "I really enjoy Austria,' he said. 'I think it's been great for me. I'm contracted for another two years over there and I'm really enjoying it. But obviously as a player, there's a level I want to reach, so we'll see what happens. "The club's been really good to me since I went over. They really helped me out, helped me settle in when I first got over. It's good, we've got a good changing room as well. The boys are quite close and we spend a lot of time together. (Image: Andrew Milligan) "The fans are amazing. When you experience winning the double last year and winning the league this year, you just see how much it means to the fans. The city's amazing to be fair. "This year we had a big stage just outside the stadium and we just went and saw the fans for a bit. It was amazing, one day I'll never forget. I don't know how many fans were there, but it was a lot of people.' Being involved in the Champions League league phase matches against Brest and Lille of France, Club Brugge of Belgium, Sporting Lisbon of Portugal and Borussia Dortmund of Germany were also, despite the narrow losses which Graz suffered in all of them, highlights of his season. Johnston - who had loan spells at Queen of the South, where his father was manager, and Cove Rangers when he was a young player at Motherwell – believes that facing that level of European opposition will help him deal with the demands of the international game. "I have played in the Champions League this season,' he said. 'That's the stage you want to be on. I'm extremely grateful that I got to experience that. As a club we'll definitely be looking to do that again. You need to play in these games and learn new experiences and little things you need to work on. It will do me the world of good when it comes to play for Scotland.'
