Liverpool ready to ‘throw everything’ at £130m target chased by Manchester City and Real Madrid
Liverpool are ready to ‘throw everything’ at the transfer of Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham at the end of the season, according to reports.
It’s no secret that Jurgen Klopp has been eyeing midfield reinforcements for a while, as pressure mounts on the manager following a run of poor results.
The England international is one of the hottest properties in Europe at the moment, with a mega price tag of £130m, so it would be a major coup if the Reds could get a deal over the line.
Bellingham has also drawn heavy interest from the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Real Madrid in recent months, so there could be a bidding war for his services next summer.
In the latest update regarding the 19-year-old’s future, reputed journalist Ben Jacobs has told Give Me Sport that he thinks Liverpool will make signing Bellingham their priority.
He said: “Jude Bellingham is there for Liverpool and they consider themselves to be one of the frontrunners.
“I don’t think we can rule out Manchester City more seriously entering the race over the coming weeks.
“They’re later to the process than Liverpool or Real Madrid, but those are the three main contenders.
“If Liverpool have their way, we know that Bellingham is a top target, so I do expect them to throw everything at it.”
Indeed, the Reds definitely need to make changes in the middle of the park. The likes of Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara and James Milner have all passed their peak, while Harvey Elliot is a great prospect, but still lacks experience.
Fabinho has also struggled for consistent form this season, so Bellingham would be the ideal man to bolster their ranks.
However, Liverpool have been poor on the pitch of late. Most recently, they suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to relegation-contenders Wolves, which has piled pressure on Klopp.
They currently sit in tenth place in the Premier League table – 11 points adrift from the top four.
With it looking unlikely that the Merseyside giants will be competing in Europe next season, this could prove to be a deciding factor in terms of Bellingham’s next destination.
Although Manchester City have also been out of sorts recently, they will almost certainly be in the Champions League next season.
With Guardiola thought to be a big admirer of Bellingham, it seems likely that City will step up their pursuit of Bellingham in the coming weeks, as suggested by Jacobs.
But, they have just been charged by the Premier League for numerous breaches of financial regulations, so it remains to be seen what the ramifications of that will be.
If it means that their spending next summer is limited, though, it seems unlikely they’ll be able to splash £130m on Bellingham.
There is plenty of time for things to happen between now and the summer, but what’s for sure is that Liverpool will do everything they can to sign their top target.
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