“He was in Turin for few days, the deal was close…”
Tottenham Hotspur managing director Fabio Paratici has revealed that England international Jude Bellingham was “one step away” from joining Juventus until he decided to chose Borussia Dortmund as his next move.
Paratici, who was at the Bianconeri before moving to North London revealed that the then 16-year-old even spent a week in Turin at Juventus’ training ground but preferred the option of moving to Germany to further his career.
As reported by transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Paratici said: “Jude Bellingham was one step away from joining Juventus years ago. He was in Turin for few days, the deal was close… then Jude decided to choose Bundesliga as next step, so he joined Borussia Dortmund.”
“It is true that Bellingham stayed at Continassa for a week, before choosing Germany.”
Tottenham director [former Juventus dt] Fabio Paratici reveals: “Jude Bellingham was one step away from joining Juventus years ago. He was in Turin for few days, the deal was close… then Jude decided to choose Bundesliga as next step, so he joined Borussia Dortmund”. 🏴 #BVB pic.twitter.com/Q2YdoZy6VL
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 11, 2021
After breaking onto the scene as a 16-year-old at boyhood club Birmingham City, Bellingham quickly became sought-after, before eventually choosing Dortmund where he has gone on to become a key player in Germany.
Playing 56 times over the course of one and a half seasons, the 18-year-old has been a revelation and seen himself linked with moves back to England, with Liverpool reportedly one of those interested.
Paratici went on to reveal that Bellingham wasn’t the only target Juve had in mind, with Erling Haaland also somebody who was on the club’s radar back when he was playing in his native Norway for Molde.
He said to Italian publication Gazzetta: “Haaland could have come to us at the time of Molde but he chose Salzburg and then Borussia Dortmund, where he would have immediately had more space.
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