Chelsea hold Manchester City fear in pursuit of £130 million midfielder

Chelsea are claimed to be holding a fear that Manchester City could soon begin a pursuit for Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham.

Pep Guardiola and his Etihad Stadium colleagues have been largely overseeing a significant overhaul and refresh of their first-team playing squad over the last few months.

With several high-profile exits - namely the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal - also come several high-profile arrivals.

Kalvin Phillips and Stefan Ortega Moreno arrived from Leeds United and Arminia Bielefeld respectively, adding much-needed depths in defensive midfielder and at goalkeeper.

Sergio Gomez was a late arrival from RSC Anderlecht in the left-back role, while Julian Alvarez finalised his move from River Plate in a negotiation that was completed back in January.

However, it was the deals with Borussia Dortmund for Erling Haaland and Manuel Akanji that could prove to be the most beneficial this season, and two transfers that City will be hoping bode well for the future.

That is due to the club's admiration for the work of Jude Bellingham at the Bundesliga side - a player who is attracting widespread attention from across the continent.

With Manchester City in the market for a new central midfielder, amid concerns over Bernardo Silva's commitment to the club long-term and the ageing Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan, the availability of Bellingham next summer could prove to be transformational.

Manchester City's Bernardo Silva.

However, City will not have it their own way.

According to Matt Law of the Telegraph, Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly is taking it upon himself to 'make enquiries' over Jude Bellingham and 'foster key relationships'.

However, the report stresses that both Real Madrid and Liverpool have 'already spent months' doing exactly that.

What is perhaps more interesting from a Manchester City point of view is that The Telegraph reports there 'remains a fear' at Chelsea that the Premier League champions will 'seriously turn their attention' towards Bellingham.

Liverpool target Jude Bellingham

Whether that fear turns into a reality remains to be seen.

What is certain at present is that key officials within Manchester City will already be drawing together a list of priority targets for next summer, should they indeed look to push for a new face in the middle of the park.

FC Barcelona are likely to return for Bernardo Silva, while a new contract is yet to be signed by Ilkay Gundogan, meaning the building of groundwork for new arrivals is more than likely to be underway.

Ilkay Gundogan celebrates scoring Manchester City's opener against Bournemouth.

Elsewhere, Manchester City return to Premier League action on Sunday afternoon, as they host Manchester United in a hostile clash between the two bitter rivals.