Real Madrid: Is Jude Bellingham’s €150 million price tag justified?

Real Madrid are rumoured to be very seriously considering the signing of English midfielder Jude Bellingham next summer from Borussia Dortmund, as the German club have reportedly set a €150 million price tag on any potential transfer for the player. Therefore, there are now two major questions that have to be answered regarding this: Is the midfielder’s price tag justified? Is the price tag justified for Los Blancos?

The short answer to whether or not the price is reasonable for the midfielder is a yes. In the current transfer market, €150 million for a talent like him is reasonable. He is able to break lines well, create chances out of thin air, and has a good eye for goal. There is talk of “English tax” being placed on him but we don’t see it here.

We will need to keep in mind the type of market we’re in and we have seen some insane numbers when it comes to transfers. Therefore, any team that gets Bellingham for €150 million will consider it to be good business especially when you remember that he’s only 19 years of age. If he’s this good now, you can only imagine how much he’ll improve by the time he’s 23 or 24 years old.

However, if we look at this in the context of whether or not it is worth paying the €150 million for Real Madrid, there are a few things that need to be considered.

Bringing in Bellingham for a high fee may cause issues for Real Madrid

Put Bellingham into any team and he’ll do well. He’ll fit in and make things happen. But at €150 million, you’re pretty much telling him and the world that the Englishman is a starter. He’s good enough to be in the line up of most teams but this automatically complicates things in Madrid.

Currently, Real Madrid’s midfielders are Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Dani Ceballos. This is of course assuming that Federico Valverde remains on the right wing but it’s also worth noting that his future lies in the centre of midfield so whether that will be in the upcoming season or later on remains to be seen.

The issue here becomes the future of these players. Camavinga and Tchouameni aside, no one else has a certain future at the club yet. Modric’s contract will end next summer but if he can keep up his current form then he will be receiving another one-year extension, Kroos’ future is undecided with recent reports claiming that he may choose to retire at the end of this season, and Ceballos has a contract ending in the summer so whether Real Madrid decide to offer him a renewal is unknown.

If two of these three players end up leaving, then you’ll have Camavinga, Valverde and Tchouameni. Is it worth bringing in Bellingham and benching one of these others?

Valverde can stay on the right wing which frees up a place in midfield, but then you also continue to slow down the development of Rodrygo Goes who has continued to improve and deserves to be given the extra responsibility on the right wing very soon.

Bringing in Bellingham will definitely complicate things a little at the club and so the final question becomes: Is bringing him in worth complicating things?

There are certain players that you cannot let pass such as Tchouameni (even when Casemiro was still at the club) or even the chase of Kylian Mbappe. These are the types of players that you bring in when you get the chance and figure things out afterwards because they’re just that good. Does Bellingham fit into that category? That is an extremely difficult question to answer and there will definitely be conflicting opinions as to whether or not he truly is what many people may refer to as ‘generational’.

He’s definitely great and could potentially be one of the best midfielders in the coming years. If Real Madrid decide against bringing in Bellingham this summer, then the chance to sign him is gone with many other top clubs such as Liverpool doing what they can to make a transfer happen in the summer window.

Whether Real Madrid pay for his services or not, there is a risk either way. But maybe the risk is worth it.