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Borussia Dortmund are confident of completing the signing of Sunderland midfielder Jobe Bellingham.
The 19-year-old has been the subject of major interest across Europe having helped Sunderland return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.
However, the German club believe they are now in pole position to secure Bellingham's signature.
They are yet to open talks with Sunderland but have received strong indications Bellingham wants to follow in his brother Jude's footsteps by joining them and believe an agreement will eventually be reached.
Dortmund's bargaining position has been strengthened considerably by a strong end to the season.
With eight games left, Dortmund were 11th in the Bundesliga, 10 points adrift of a top-four spot.
They won seven of their remaining matches, and drew the other at eventual champions Bayern Munich, to finish fourth and secure a place in next season's Champions League.
Dortmund signed Jude Bellingham from Birmingham City in 2020 and he made 132 appearances in a three-year stint with the club, winning the German Cup alongside Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho in 2021.
However, he missed out on the Bundesliga title immediately before joining Real Madrid in 2023. He was injured and watched the team draw with Mainz on the final day of the 2022-23 season, when victory would have seen Dortmund crowned champions for the first time in 11 years.
Jobe Bellingham was named the Championship's Young Player of the Year last month - five years after Jude won the award.
He was also named in the Championship team of the season before helping Sunderland beat Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final.
If Dortmund complete a deal before 10 June then he would be eligible to play in the Club World Cup, which also features his brother Jude's current club Real Madrid.
Jobe Bellingham has made four appearances for England's Under-21s and is in their squad for the European Under-21 Championship, to be held in Slovakia from 11-28 June.
England's U21 boss Lee Carsley told BBC Sport that they would release players for the Club World Cup, which takes place in the United States from 14 June to 13 July.
"We're supporting all of the players," he said. "We have room within our schedule to make sure that they get a chance if they need to have a medical or they need to speak to a club. We support them with that.
"Ideally I want them here, of course I do. You want your strongest squad, but we have to put the players first and that is definitely what we are doing.
"I think it is something we have been preparing for. We always knew we would potentially lose two or three along the way.
"Fifa have precedence over our tournaments. If that is the case, with any of the players, their teams and their clubs will always come first in that competition.
"We have to make sure that we are agile and ready to adapt, hence why the first squad was a little bit bigger."
