Manchester City are reportedly keen on signing Borussia Dortmund sensation Jude Bellingham and the England international could be Pep Guardiola’s next version of Yaya Toure.
City are one of the favourites to sign the 19-year-old but will face stiff competition from Liverpool and Real Madrid, with an exit from Dortmund looking likely in 2023.
Since joining the Bundesliga side from Birmingham City in 2020, the young midfielder has gone on to make 112 appearances for BVB, contributing an impressive 19 goals and 21 assists in that time.
The 2022/23 campaign has already been his best from a goalscoring perspective, as he has nine goals to his name in all competitions, including four in the Champions League group stages, so it is easy to see why he is attracting so much interest from Europe’s elite.
Real Madrid defender David Alaba was full of praise for Bellingham earlier this year in an interview with Welt (via Daily Mail).
He said: “As for Bellingham as a player, I can say that he is one of the greatest midfield talents in the world.
“And that at a young age! At just 19, he leads the team, doesn’t hide and already decides games with his style of play.”
Should he arrive at the Etihad next year, he could follow in the footsteps of City legend Yaya Toure, as while the Citizens boast a number of world-class midfielders, none possess the Ivorian’s ability to be incredibly effective in both boxes, in the same way that Bellingham has shown in recent performances with Dortmund and England.
Toure wrote about the English wonderkid in a recent piece for The Athletic and praised him for his ability in all areas of the pitch.
He commented: “Bellingham has been the star of all of England’s matches for me. Sometimes he’s scoring, sometimes he’s passing, and the timing of his box-to-box runs are perfect.
“He’s in good shape and came into this tournament with the right confidence from Borussia Dortmund. You can tell he sees himself as a potential top player in the world, and wants to show it at the World Cup.”
WhoScored suggests that Bellingham excels at passing, dribbling, through balls and tackling, all of which Toure mastered during his spell at the Etihad, contributing 79 goals and 49 assists in 316 total appearances for the Citizens.
Signing the Dortmund star could set City’s midfield up for easily the next decade and there seems no reason why someone of Bellingham’s talent couldn’t emulate Toure under Guardiola, should he make the move to the Etihad next year.