Dortmund boss hails club's impact by making Liverpool target Jude Bellingham a '19-year-old leader'

Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic is eager to focus on Tuesday's Champions League clash at Chelsea amid rumors that Jude Bellingham will leave the club.

The 19-year-old starred in Dortmund's 10-game winning streak in all competitions, which saw them level on points with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.

They take a 1-0 lead in the second leg of their Round of 16 after winning at Signal Iduna Park three weeks ago, and Terzic has promised talk of a Premier League move for Bellingham won't hurt. would not affect his team in West London.

"With all due respect to Jude and his performance, we've been answering these kinds of questions since his arrival (in 2020)," Terzic said.

"Before choosing to join us, he had opportunities to join the Premier League. There was a lot of interest from top clubs.

"But he chose to join us because he knows it can be the perfect step for him. I think we've proven it both ways. He helps us a lot. But as a club, we help him and his career.

"We are really happy to have him in our team, he is one of our leaders at 19. He came into the England team as one of our players. But we know we need a good performance from him tomorrow.

"It will be a subject for his future, but our future now is that we are going to face a very tough opponent tomorrow and so we need him in a good way."

Former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can, whose brilliant goal-line clearance from Kalidou Koulibaly in the first leg preserved Dortmund's lead to a draw, added that Bellingham must be given the opportunity to make the right decision about his future amid interest from the Reds.

"He's a world-class talent, everyone knows his potential," Can said. “Jude must know himself what he is doing. It's hard to say which suits him best. He and his family have to decide."

READ MORE: Transfer gossip: Man Utd shortlist four forwards as race for Gvardiol heats up