Borussia Dortmund Adjusting To Life After Jude Bellingham As Crunch Champions League Match vs Newcastle Looms

Borussia Dortmund travel to their crucial Champions League clash at Newcastle on Wednesday still adjusting to life after Jude Bellingham. Bellingham, who joined Dortmund aged 17 in 2020 from boyhood club Birmingham City, moved to Real Madrid this summer for a fee in excess of 100 million euros ($108 million). The England midfielder's form in the Spanish capital, where he has scored 10 goals in 11 matches including several late winners, has shown the world just what Dortmund lost in the summer.

For their part, Dortmund have had a puzzling start to the season.

The eight-time German champions are unbeaten in the league but have failed to impress, often grinding out wins against less-fancied opponents.

In the Champions League, the 1997 winners are not only winless but goalless, having gone down 2-0 at Paris Saint-Germain and played out a 0-0 draw with AC Milan.

The Germans currently sit bottom of Group F and cannot afford another defeat at St James' Park.

At a club which has recently seen superstar youngsters Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho, Achraf Hakimi and Ousmane Dembele move elsewhere, it may end up being Bellingham that Dortmund miss the most.

He was a vital player last season as Dortmund came within a whisker of winning the Bundesliga title for the first time since 2012, falling agonisingly short with Bellingham injured and unable to feature in the last two matches.

He watched from the bench as Dortmund drew 2-2 at home against Mainz on the final day, handing the title to Bayern Munich on goal difference.

At Dortmund, Bellingham played a less attacking role than at he does now for Real.

Dortmund brought in two internationals in Germany's Felix Nmecha and Austria's Marcel Sabitzer to replace Bellingham, but the two tend