Liverpool given Jude Bellingham transfer impetus as race for Dortmund star hots up

Liverpool currently have bigger fish to fry, with their efforts to win the quadruple rightly taking up the majority of the focus, but they cannot afford to let Jude Bellingham slip through their grasp. Although the summer transfer window may feel like a long way off for Jurgen Klopp and his team, it is already coming into view for Europe’s biggest clubs.

As ever, the big clubs are positioning themselves ahead of what promises to be a blockbuster transfer window. Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are firmly established as the headline acts, due to their eye-catching release clause and free transfer status respectively, but Bellingham is now beginning to rival the two strikers – and for good reason.

Bellingham was recently named as the top wonderkid in world football by Goal, who rank players aged 18 or younger every year in their NXGN list. His talent is nothing new, but his consistency at the highest level is – and is something to get excited about.

The 18-year-old central midfielder already has 127 senior club appearances under his belt for Dortmund and Birmingham City. He has contributed 10 goals and 17 assists for Dortmund since they paid Birmingham £25million for his signature in June 2020.

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“The league is definitely a brilliant league for young players and coaches to develop but of course the standard of the Premier League is undoubtedly higher, I think we see that in the European competitions,” he said this week. “Our top teams are going to be right at the end of the Champions League every year, the financial power of our league is blowing everyone else out of the water so our big teams are going to be the main players in those competitions as they have been in the last years really.”

Southgate’s comments have been given extra impetus by reports that Real Madrid have joined the race to sign Bellingham. According to Bild, Real want the England international, who is under contract with Dortmund until June 2025, to add to this summer’s potential arrivals of Haaland and Mbappe. Meanwhile, AS say the Spanish giants see Bellingham as ‘fully qualified’ to become the heir to Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.

That could be where Liverpool come in. The Reds have been strongly linked with Bellingham recently, but may be currently focused on other priorities in the market, with Mohamed Salah’s future still yet to be cleared up.

While another forward is important, with Divock Origi set to leave when his contract expires and further doubts over Takumi Minamino and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. But can a side of Liverpool’s ambitions really afford to miss out on a generational talent like Bellingham?

Liverpool showed their cold-blooded ruthlessness in the January transfer window when they gazumped Tottenham to sign Luis Diaz. If Real Madrid’s interest is serious then they may have to do something similar if they want to land Bellingham.