Liverpool have backed off from their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham for a summer transfer. Dortmund are reportedly open to offers for the midfielder as this summer will be their final chance to cash in on their teenaged asset given his contract expires 12 months later.
A host of Premier League clubs have shown interest in the England international, who is expected to return to his homeland in the summer. While Jude Bellingham was Liverpool’s top transfer priority as manager Jurgen Klopp gets ready to restructure his team following a poor season, a potential summer chase of the England international is now off, in a huge blow to the German, but a major boost to their rivals.
Liverpool to ‘channel their resources elsewhere’ given Jude Bellingham’s hefty price tag
Liverpool are planning to rebuild their midfield this summer, in what could even be an open heart surgery, but they do not want to spend a hefty chunk of their transfer budget on just one player. Dortmund are rumoured to demand a transfer fee of almost £130 million for Jude Bellingham, and the full package could even inflate to £150m including salary and agent fees; a sum deemed prohibitive at Anfield.
As a result, according to The Athletic, Liverpool have now decided to ‘channel their resources elsewhere’ due to the scale of the necessary rebuild. Forking out in the excess of £100m on one single player would have consumed a substantial portion of Klopp’s transfer budget during a summer when Liverpool, who appear destined to miss out on the financial windfall of Champions League qualification, needed to essentially assemble a brand-new midfield and fortify their defence.
The report further adds, according to senior Anfield sources, the deal “stopped making sense” after extensive discussions, and they felt they couldn’t afford to put all their eggs in one basket, especially since there are no guarantees that Jude Bellingham will even leave Dortmund this summer or choose Anfield as his destination.
They reportedly also don’t want to get involved in a prolonged bidding war for the midfielder, with the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea and PSG heavily interested as well. Back in December, Klopp had discussed Bellingham in an interview and said:
“I don’t like to talk about money when you talk about a player like him. Everyone can see he is just exceptional. If you mention to someone who has no clue about football or who knows about football and has not watched it for a while ‘how old do you think Jude Bellingham is?’ I don’t think anyone would get even close to his age. They would say 28 or 29 because he plays so mature. He played an exceptional World Cup. Absolutely exceptional.”
Bellingham is a favourite of Klopp no doubt, but Liverpool could focus on more affordable options in Chelsea’s Mason Mount, free agent Youri Tielemans, Brighton duo Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister, as well as Ryan Gravenberch of Bayern Munich. However, the Reds’ backing-off results in a major boost for the likes of Bellingham’s other admirers.
The likes of Manchester City and Chelsea, both of whom have a keen interest in the teenager, it proves to be an advantage now that their Premier League rival has pulled out of the Jude Bellingham race. Paris Saint-Germain may decide to make a move as a result since the 19-year-old is considered to be a “strong target”. While Real Madrid too were said to have cooled-off their interest, this new development could right away bring them back in the mix.