Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund join Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal in watching 16-year-old
Wednesday 8 January 2020 12:33, UK
Jude Bellingham, one of the most sought after young talents in English football, looks set to stay at Birmingham City despite interest from some of the top clubs in Europe.
Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Dortmund have joined Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal in watching the teenager, who has earned rave reviews after making 23 appearances for the Blues this season.
He became the club's youngest ever player at 16 years and 38 days when he started Birmingham's EFL Cup first-round match at Portsmouth last August, breaking the record set by club legend Trevor Francis in 1970.
Birmingham are under pressure to raise funds having been docked nine points last season for breaking profit and sustainability rules.
The Championship club were put under an imposed business plan by the EFL and told to sell players, but it is expected Bellingham will stay until the summer, when he can sign a professional contract after he turns 17 in June.
Birmingham could face another points deduction after being charged with a breach of EFL regulations on Monday.
The club refused to sell Che Adams last January despite pressure from the EFL, eventually allowing him to join Southampton for £15m in July - almost double the offer they had received for him six months earlier.
They also sold Jota to Aston Villa for £4m and Isaac Vassell to Cardiff for £2m, in an attempt to balance the books.
