Jobe Bellingham decides future! Sunderland star ready to follow in brother Jude's footsteps and make €30m Bundesliga transfer despite Black Cats' promotion to Premier League

Borussia Dortmund have taken a big step towards poaching Bellingham from Sunderland, according to reports in Germany. Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sport Germany notes that the 19-year-old forward has "100% decided" he wants to join Dortmund, informing fellow Bundesliga suitor Eintracht Frankfurt of that choice. Now it is for Dortmund to negotiate a transfer fee with Sunderland, whose asking price is €30 million (£25m/$34m).

Bellingham was one of the stars of the 2024-25 Championship season as Sunderland secured promotion via the play-off final at Wembley, after eight years out of the Premier League. But the teenager doesn't look as though he will be part of the next chapter, after what seems to have been a key meeting with Dortmund representatives recently took place in Ibiza. It is a very familiar path for the family following Jude's 2020 transfer there, proving to be career-defining, and a perfect stepping stone to Real Madrid and superstardom.

With 116 senior appearances for Birmingham City and Sunderland since 2022, Jobe has already played nearly three times as many games in English football as Jude did. His older brother had only just turned 17 when he joined Dortmund, having played 44 times for Birmingham. For being one of the best players in the world, Jude has never played top flight football in his home country - it may yet be a long time coming, if he ever does.

The negotiations between Sunderland and Dortmund are set to get underway "soon", according to Plettenberg. There is still some way to go in the process, but it is distinctly possible that Bellingham could be playing his football in Germany come the start of next season. Jumping ahead, it would also give him a better platform to earn a place in England's 2026 World Cup squad in the short-term than staying at Sunderland might.