Frank Sinclair has warned Birmingham City midfielder Jude Bellingham to be cautious about agreeing to a move to Chelsea in the summer transfer window.

The 16-year-old midfielder has enjoyed a stunning debut season in senior football at St Andrew's, leading to links with a number of big European clubs ahead of the summer transfer window.

According to recent reports, Chelsea are battling with Premier League rivals Manchester United and Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund to secure the services of Bellingham.

However, Sinclair appears to believe that a move to Stamford Bridge may not be in Bellingham's best interests at this moment in time.

Speaking to Birmingham Live via GentingBet about the possibility of a transfer to Chelsea for Bellingham, Sinclair - who made over 200 appearances for Chelsea between 1990 and 1998 - said: "He has to think about playing games, getting better and improving as a player – which I think will be very difficult for him to do at Chelsea.

"You look at the youngsters coming through the ranks at Chelsea and you’d say that there are better players coming through the academy than Bellingham anyway."

Discussing the type of club that Bellingham should be looking to sign for if he does leave Birmingham, Sinclair continued: "So, if he is going to move on from Birmingham and kick on at a higher level, it is really important that he goes to a club where he can play week in, week out as that’s the only way he’ll improve and fulfil the potential that he’s got.

"I think Bellingham needs to be very wary of his next move."

So far this season, Bellingham has made 35 appearances and scored four goals in all competitions for Birmingham, who are currently 16th in the Championship table, nine points off the play-offs and eight clear of the relegation zone.

The Verdict

I do think Sinclair has a point here.

Having enjoyed a season of regular football and become such a key figure at Birmingham this year, it is hard to see Bellingham wanting to take a step back down the pecking order in the next few months.

That however, is something that may well happen should he make the move to Chelsea, given it will be hard for him to force his way into a team who look to be performing so well at the minute, although it should be noted that Bellingham could also face a similar problem with any of the other three clubs currently interested in him.