Liverpool’s stance to put plans to strengthen their midfield on hold until 2023 has only fuelled speculation regarding a potential move for Jude Bellingham further. With Borussia Dortmund unwilling to sell him until after this winter’s World Cup, it’s easy to speculate that the 19-year-old is their first-choice target and Jurgen Klopp is willing to wait for him. Two plus two equals?
After all the Reds are known admirers of the England international with Jurgen Klopp said to be a fan, while Goal recently reported that the England international would be more than interested in a move to Merseyside. The only problem is they won’t be alone with competition set to be fierce for the midfielder.
Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City have all registered their interest in the Borussia Dortmund star, who celebrates his 19th birthday today, while Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are expected to be interested too. Meanwhile, Bild claim Dortmund have put an asking price of €120m on Bellingham’s head.
READ MORE: Pep Lijnders forced to wait after three Liverpool talents tipped to step up
READ MORE: Raheem Sterling must face truth about Liverpool as Man City make their feelings clear
Equating to £103.9m, if Liverpool are determined to land the midfielder, such a fee will not put them off. It hasn’t in the past, after all, when parting with mammoth fees to land the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Alisson, Naby Keita and, most recently, Darwin Nunez. The issue for the Reds would be, with such vast interest from elsewhere, if they get caught in a bidding war.
While Liverpool aren’t afraid of big transfer fees if the player is right, they won’t break their wage structure for any player. Star new players predominantly come in at a rate below the Reds’ elite stars, with performances earning them a place in that higher bracket.
Thiago Alcantara is a rare exception, having come in as one of the club’s highest earners at a reported £200k a week, but the Spain international was a proven world class player who had won the lot in Spain and Germany. With Nunez’s demands more in line with those of Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz at around £140k a week, Bellingham is likely to not be granted that leading status overnight either.
As talented as the midfielder is, he is still a teenager who has never played in the Premier League. If other interested clubs were willing to pay him these mammoth wages, having seen former Borussia Dortmund team-mates Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho pocket a reported £375k a week and £350k a week at Man City and Manchester United respectively, any Liverpool pursuit would likely end in disappointment.
Currently haggling with Mohamed Salah over his new contract ahead of its 2023 expiry, if the Reds aren’t bending over to pay the Egyptian such a wage that would make him one of the best players in the world then Bellingham has no chance of earning such a fee.
However, while rival sides might be willing to blow Liverpool out of the water when it comes to wages, the Reds already know full well what they need to do if they really want to sign the midfielder. Do their hardest to ensure the player wants to join them and them alone.
They have signed a number of stars despite elite interest from elsewhere in such a way before, while they also suffered the opposing side of it earlier this summer when speaking to Aurelien Tchouameni. They would have strengthened their midfield already this year, having held talks with the Frenchman earlier this summer.
But when they were informed his preference was to join Real Madrid, who would end up signing the Frenchman in a deal worth up to a potential €100m, their midfield plans were put on hold. With the 22-year-old said to be on £150k a week at the Bernabeu, money wasn’t the deciding factor.
Liverpool went the extra mile themselves to sign the likes of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Van Dijk despite interest from Manchester United for the Brazilian and the Senegalese, and the Red Devils, Man City and Chelsea for the Dutchman.
Ian Ayre flew out to Santiago to secure Firmino’s signature, going the extra mile after holding talks with Hoffenheim in Germany. “I remember going out to Hoffenheim to meet with the owner (Dietmar Hopp) and the agent (Roger Whitman) who was representing the club,” Liverpool’s former CEO told the Daily Mail in 2020. “We got the deal done and it was all very straight forward.
“After that, we spoke to Roberto's agent. He said to me: ‘We will have to sit down and talk further – do you want to come out here? I'm in Santiago.’ I said: ‘Sure, no problem’.”
“I always find that face-to-face meetings bring a personal touch. We did it with (Philippe) Coutinho, for (Sadio) Mane. Even Joe Gomez was a drive down to Charlton, to meet him and make sure we completed. That face-to-face aspect is so important to make sure there are no problems.
“There could have been a problem as the Brazilian FA were running a closed camp and not allowing anyone in to see their squad. But we were really lucky as Dunga, their manager, agreed to let Roberto leave the team hotel and meet me for an hour with his agent. That's when we did the deal. I took the picture and he was our player.”
He continued: “We used to get quite a lot of flak about the transfer committee. But the guys (Edwards, Fallows and Hunter) had followed him for ages. Barry sniffed him out, Dave consolidated and then Michael and I carried it on. We wanted the negotiations to be low key as possible.
'When we were talking to Hoffenheim, we did not want anything to come out and distract Roberto. We had talked to them for such a long time and we were determined to make sure it was as smooth as possible. He was a player we really, really wanted.”
Meanwhile, Mane had an agreement with United before intervention from Klopp, who had previously decided against turning him down for Borussia Dortmund, saw the forward opt for a move to Anfield.
“I have to say I was really close to going to Manchester United,” Mane admitted in an interview with the Telegraph last month when recalling his decision to join Liverpool. “I had the contract there. I had it all agreed. It was all ready.
“I still remember the first time I got the call from Klopp. I was watching TV. It was an action movie - because I love movies - and he said, ‘Sadio, listen, I want to explain to you what happened at Dortmund.’
“That was when he thought of signing me for Dortmund and for some reason it didn’t work out. He tried to explain and I said, “‘It’s okay, it happened.’ I forgave him. Then he said, ‘Now I want you at Liverpool.” And I said, “Okay, Dortmund is behind us, let’s focus on the future.’”
As for Van Dijk, Klopp met with the Dutchman in the summer of 2017 and the defender’s mind was met up. While the club would be forced to apologise to Southampton for their approach and step away from a deal, Manchester United United, Man City and Chelsea were unable to take advantage due to his now determination to move to Anfield, with a deal belatedly being completed the following January.
Liverpool have enjoy recent successes in the transfer market too, having joined the race for Diaz after Tottenham Hotspur had opened negotiations with FC Porto, with the Colombian swiftly decided Anfield was the destination for him, while the Reds’ swift move for Nunez despite rival interest from United ensured it was them or no-one for the Uruguayan too.
It’s a stark contrast to early in FSG’s reign when they’d miss out on the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Willian, with Liverpool bosses now working hard behind the scenes to ensure Anfield is the place to be for potential targets.
If Bellingham is the man for the Reds, the groundwork will have already begun. And while he might ultimately end up being priced beyond Liverpool’s reach should they miss out on his signature next year, it won’t be for lack of trying.
READ NEXT
Villarreal forward Arnaut Danjuma says there was 'nothing worse' than Liverpool decision
- Liverpool have perfect player to help Darwin Nunez outdo Erling Haaland
- Jude Bellingham could be part of larger Liverpool masterplan
- All of a sudden' - Liverpool sent blunt Mohamed Salah warning after Sadio Mane transfer
- Liverpool could sign ideal Jude Bellingham alternative for fraction of the price
