Owen Hargreaves has compared reported Liverpool target Jude Bellingham to former Reds skipper Steven Gerrard.
The England international netted at the Etihad on Wednesday as Borussia Dortmund were defeated 2-1 by Manchester City in the Champions League and the 19-year-old has received a lot of praise for how he performed against Pep Guardiola’s side.
It’s believed that the Anfield outfit are leading the race to sign the Bundesliga star next summer with a number of other European giants, including Real Madrid, also interested in the teenager.
Despite the deadline day loan signing of Arthur Melo from Juventus, Liverpool fans are still crying out for the club to sign a new midfielder and Hargreaves has now likened Bellingham to one of the club’s greatest every players.
“Jude can do everything: be physical like Stevie G, he can be aggressive, can play passes over the top, run beyond you, dribble – that’s the type of player you’ve got to worry about because they can do everything,” he told BT Sport (via the Liverpool Echo).
“The way he speaks for a 19-year-old, it’s not normal. His composure, calmness and elegance to his game, he’s a defensive midfield player scoring against City and playing balls with outside of the foot. He’s a Swiss army knife, he is. Today they wanted him to play higher so he could get them higher up the pitch, he did.”
Bellingham does appear to have all the ability in the world and at such a tender age it explains why he’s one of the hottest prospects in world football.
At just 19 he has the ability to control games on the biggest stage and is now a fully fledged England international.
To be compared to Gerrard, a man that is recognised as one of Liverpool best every players and one of the best midfielders of all time, is a huge compliment and the thought of seeing the former Birmingham City star in the famous Red shirt is exciting.
Any potential deal to bring the Dortmund favourite to Merseyside would cost a serious amount of money, but with the potential he’s showing, the experience he’s already gathered and the reality that he could be a star for the club for the next 10 years is something that makes any potential price tag justifiable.
It was disappointing to see the club not make a permanent signing in the midfield department this summer, but our lack of movement could suggest that a big offer for Bellingham is being prepared for next year in what would put a smile on the face’s of all Liverpool supporters.