Jude Bellingham has been a name long-linked with a transfer to Liverpool and it seems as though the player is keen on the move too.
As reported by Neil Jones for GOAL: ‘The England international will almost certainly leave Borussia Dortmund next year and, at 19 (his birthday is June 29), he represents the ultimate long-term investment, a successor to Henderson and the kind of player who could dominate the Reds’ midfield for a decade or longer.
‘Klopp is a fan (who isn’t?) but Liverpool know competition for his signature will be fierce. Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City have all registered their interest, and it would be a surprise if both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich hadn’t done the same.
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‘A potential fee of £100m ($123m) could also prove prohibitive, especially with Bellingham likely to command a salary which would place him among the highest earners at the club if he were to join. Were he to shine at the World Cup this winter, the numbers, and the interest, will only rise.
‘Liverpool’s wage structure is carefully managed – see, for evidence, the difficulty they’ve had agreeing a new deal with Mohamed Salah – so it would be interesting to see just how hard they would be willing to push for someone like Bellingham, even if it is understood the player would be more than interested in a move to Merseyside’.
The question may not come down to convincing the Borussia Dortmund man that Anfield should be his next footballing destination, rather trying to see if we can afford a deal.
With the midfield ageing and the need for a new midfielder rising, it’s likely Jurgen Klopp will need to spend big on his next man but it’s not known how big he can go.
If all parties are interested and the boss really wants him, then this should be a deal we see financed but there’s a lot of time and a lot of if’s before anything will be answered.