Manchester United warned Jude Bellingham will attract further interest this summer

Matt Davies30 May 2020

Birmingham boss Pep Clotet believes the interest in Jude Bellingham will increase if and when the Championship returns, with Manchester United keen on bringing the youngster to Old Trafford.

The 16-year-old has emerged as a key target for United in recent weeks, the Red Devils willing to pay in the region of £30million for the midfielder.

While German giants Borussia Dortmund are also said to be interested in Bellingham, the financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic may prevent clubs from spending big this summer.

The Championship is behind the Premier League in its progress to restart but they remain hopeful of returning to action late in June having commenced training in small groups last Monday.

"Because of the current situation we have now, we possibly think we'll be competing and playing games until July," Clotet told Sky Sports.

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"We are very focused on the present and there's so much uncertainty in this situation that it's very difficult to start thinking about next season."

Of the speculation surrounding Bellingham, he added: "What I'm very happy about now is that Jude is here with us and all the players are here with us as well.

"We focus on that really, but I understand there's going to be more speculation when the games do come back.

"As a head coach, I don't deal with transfers, it's the club. But I can imagine the situation has all the clubs very worried about how to finish this season and what impact this season has into next season.

"That can change a lot of the future of the clubs. Possibly it's going to be a busy summer, possibly it's going to be less busy, we still don't know what impact it will have."

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