Jude Bellingham, the Borussia Dortmund star, has expressed his desire to end the club’s 11-year wait for the Bundesliga title. The 19-year-old has played a crucial role in Edin Terzic’s side, which is currently one point ahead of Bayern Munich at the top of the table with five games left to play. Dortmund appeared to be missing out on the championship after being overtaken by Bayern following their 4-2 derby defeat earlier this month. However, they have taken advantage of Bayern’s recent dip in form, where they have suffered a draw and a loss, to return to the top of the Bundesliga. Bellingham opened the scoring in Dortmund’s 4-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in their last game. Ahead of Friday’s trip to VfL Bochum, the England international has vowed to repay the club’s faith in him by winning Dortmund’s first top-flight crown since 2012.
Bellingham, who was signed from Birmingham in 2020, told Bundesliga.com, “The way I look at it, things change quickly in this league, especially this season. Last week, we were out of it, we were dead. The week before we had a chance. The week before that we were out of it and dead again. So, for me, it’s about staying [focused] during the positives and the negatives. There’s no point getting too high, and there’s no point getting too low.”
He added, “No one in [our dressing-room] was dreaming of being first after 29 games; the dream is to be first after 34. We have to win every game now until the end of the season. Whether Bayern had [beaten Mainz] or lost, that was still the task for us. We do want to dream, but we need to make sure we do the job first. I’d love, more than anything at the moment, to win the league for this club, after everything it’s given me. I’m giving absolutely everything. All the boys are giving absolutely everything to try and make it happen. It may not look like that sometimes because a result [here and there] might not be the best. But we want this more than anything, and we’re going to do whatever it takes to try and make it happen.”
Bellingham’s future is the subject of constant speculation, with Manchester City and Real Madrid reportedly leading the race to sign the £110million-rated player after Liverpool pulled out of the running. However, it has been suggested that he could remain at Signal Iduna Park for at least another season as he considers his next move.