It’s the news every Liverpool fan had been dreading witnessing on their phone screens ahead of the summer transfer window: Jude Bellingham looks set to not be joining Jurgen Klopp’s Reds this summer.
Fabrizio Romano instead confirmed in a tweet that Real Madrid ‘are close’ to finalising a deal with Borussia Dortmund to bring the exciting prodigy to the Spanish capital.
🚨⚪️ Real Madrid are close to complete deal to sign Jude Bellingham, confirmed. Negotiations are progressing to the final stages.
Personal terms are almost agreed — Juni Calafat, crucial again.
New meeting has been scheduled to complete the agremeent with Borussia Dortmund. pic.twitter.com/EZO76bXiHk
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 3, 2023
Despite suggestions that the Merseysiders hadn’t completely given up on the deal and that the Englishman would consider prolonging his stay in Germany to get his ideal move, it seems both Manchester City and their domestic rivals have been pipped to the move.
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What now for Liverpool’s summer transfer window?
It’s not entirely unexpected given the obvious pull of a club of Madrid’s pedigree, though one might have hoped that one of Jurgen Klopp’s top targets would still be available in a year’s time when the midfield situation had presumably improved.
As things stand, it looks like we’ll have to settle for cheaper (though still more than talented) alternatives, with the likes of Mason Mount and Alexis Mac Allister both continuing to earn links to the red half of Merseyside – as was previously expected from the club’s well-documented u-turn.