Borussia Dortmund have won the race to sign Manchester United target Jude Bellingham, sources have told ESPN, with the club expected to announce the Birmingham City midfielder's arrival in the coming days for a fee believed to be around £20 million.
Bellingham, 16, has also been linked with Chelsea but has his heart set on a transfer to the Bundesliga to follow in the footsteps of England international Jadon Sancho.
- What did you miss? The latest from Europe's top leagues
- Transfer Q&A: How will summer transfers work?
- Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
Bellingham cannot officially sign a professional contract until he turns 17 on Monday, June 29. He is set to finish the Championship season with Birmingham which restarted at the weekend and is set to be concluded by late July.
Dortmund are set to pay a training compensation in the £20m region, in a similar agreement BVB reached with Manchester City over Sancho in 2018 when the winger joined for a reported compensation fee of €7m.
United were hopeful of landing the youngster especially after a visit to the Carrington training ground prior to the coronavirus pandemic disrupting the world of sport. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hoped to sign the midfielder in January but the club did not manage to seal a deal in the transfer window.
Bellingham has been on Dortmund's radar since the 2018-19 season and they were able to convince him with their reputation for introducing future stars to the Champions League and giving them regular Bundesliga experience.
Gio Reyna, 17, became the latest teenager to start for Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Saturday. The German club signed Christian Pulisic at the age of 16 and the United States international left to join Chelsea last summer.
Dortmund also beat United to Erling Haaland in January. The 19-year-old has been one of the standout performers this season, scoring 13 goals in his first 14 league appearances.
At 16, Bellingham has made 33 league appearances for Birmingham and featured for 70 minutes in the 0-0 draw at West Brom on Saturday. The midfielder has scored four goals and set up a further three.
He has also represented England at youth level and captained the under-17s in the matches against Austria and Poland last autumn.