Arsenal and Chelsea are reportedly keen on Birmingham City’s Jude Bellingham.
Birmingham City boss Pep Clotet has told the Birmingham Mail that he likes knowing that clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea want Jude Bellingham.
The Blues have seen Bellingham emerge through their academy, and become a Championship regular at the age of just 16 this season.
Bellingham has made 16 Championship appearances this season, picking up two goals as he has shown he is one of the Football League’s most exciting talents.
Billed as arguably the best academy graduate at Birmingham since Trevor Francis, Bellingham may not be at St Andrews long enough to get close to Francis’s 280 appearances and 119 goals for the club.
That’s because, much like every promising young player in the Football League, he’s already being linked with a big move to the Premier League.
The Telegraph reported last week that Arsenal and Chelsea are both watching Bellingham with a view to signing him, with Bournemouth, Manchester City and Manchester United also keen.
That means Birmingham may face a battle to keep Bellingham in 2020, but boss Clotet isn’t losing too much sleep about the situation.
Clotet has suggested that he likes hearing clubs want his players because it means they’re doing well, and admitted that he did have on talk with Bellingham earlier this season about focusing on his game at Birmingham rather than any interest that may come his way – and he hasn’t had to speak with him again, believing that Bellingham knows it’s best to stay put for now.
“There will always be speculation and I decided a long time ago to stop worrying about the future and start focusing on just the present – and also stop worrying about the past,” said Clotet. “I think in football that works very well for me. You know what I would like, I would like every club in the world to come for Jude Bellingham, I would love to be in that position and love him to be in that position. And I know that he understands how good it is for him and for his development to keep playing at Birmingham and if he does leave do it on his terms in his moment.”
“I am not worried when our players are wanted by everyone – I like that. We had one talk at the beginning of the season and it didn’t require another talk. The talk was simply ‘Focus on your task, focus on your job, this is what is demanded of your position and of you as a player. If your role changes you will be told again just do the best you can to do that and grow’. I have only seen him grow and follow that advice from the beginning, there is nothing in my mind that can make me think different about him,” he added.
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