Dortmund 'a signature away' from Jude Bellingham and Thomas Meunier | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United have been locked in a desperate battle for 16-year-old Birmingham City wonderkid Jude Bellingham for some time now, with Chelsea reportedly trying to get into the race late.

Though United seemed to be in the lead at first, the German giants have been pulling away as of late.

Now, according to Bild, they are just ‘a signature away’ from completing his signing and claim the deal would have already been complete had it not been for the Covid-19 outbreak.

With Jadon Sancho heavily tipped for a move away from the club this summer, Bellingham has widely been considered his successor due to his eye-catching two-way play that has won over the hearts of clubs all around the world.

With Dortmund expected to bring in a fee that’s around €100m for Sancho, it’s believed the Germans will be in a position to offer considerably more money for Bellingham than the competition.

Though the current pandemic is likely to see transfer fees drop worldwide, Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke claimed over the weekend that Sancho, amongst others, will not be sold for less than full price.

“I believe that the transfer market will significantly drop. In spite of that there will still be a few big transfers,” Watzke told Bild.

“I can clearly say that despite the existential crisis [for football] even the richest clubs don’t have to believe they can go bargain hunting at Dortmund. We must not sell anyone below value.

“Now, regardless of names that we never discuss publicly, it’s really not the right time to talk about transfer fees and transfers.”

It’s also widely believed that Dortmund will land PSG right-back Thomas Meunier on a free transfer this summer, with Bild claiming his signature is all that’s missing as well.