Jude Bellingham
Two Liverpool stars including one who earned a three out of ten for his display against Brighton have tried to steer Jude Bellingham towards Anfield, per a report.
Despite still being a teenager, Jude Bellingham is quickly becoming one of world football’s most in-demand stars. The Borussia Dortmund and England ace, 19, ia attracting the type of heavyweight interest usually reserved for all-time greats.
Indeed, the midfielder can count Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea Liverpool and Real Madrid among his confirmed admirers.
All five clubs are looking to prise him away from Germany in the summer of 2023 in what promises to be a must-see transfer saga.
Real Madrid and Liverpool are believed to have put the most groundwork in behind the scenes. That led to part Chelsea owner, Todd Boehly, personally taking control o the Blues’pursuitto try and close the gap.
It was then Man Utd’s turn to seemingly move up the queue when Saturday’s reports from Spain claimed they’re engineering their way towards the blockbuster coup.
Reports have varied wildly as to how much a Bellingham deal will cost.
The Athletic reported Dortmund have placed a £131m valuation on their midfield ace. The Telegraph echoed those sentiments, citing a £130m figure.
However, the Sun are among those to state Bellingham might move for less than £100m if the deal is to Dortmund’s liking. Pulling that off in practice may require most or all of the fee to be paid up front.
Liverpool pair make Bellingham play
The team arguably in greatest need of Bellingham’s services is Liverpool.
The Reds’ midfield is a point of contention this season. What’s more, three players – James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – are out of contract next summer.
CBS Sports reported one of Bellingham’s ‘essential’ demands is Champions League football.
That’ll leave Liverpool sweating after more dropped points against Brighton on Saturday. They’ve won just two of seven to start the campaign and are already four points adrift of fourth spot.
However, all the Reds can do in relation to Bellingham is try and according to Football Insider , a pair of players have done their part.
They reported Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson both gave Bellingham a nudge during the last international break.
The Liverpool stars reportedly told Bellingham in no uncertain terms why joining Liverpool would be the ‘perfect move for him’.
Bellingham is reported to have ‘laughed off’ the cheeky transfer ploy. Nonetheless, he was ‘flattered’ by the move from two players he ‘respects and admires’.
Liverpool stars panned in local media
Henderson and Alexander-Arnold both started Liverpool’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Brighton on Saturday. However, neither did much to impress Bellingham if he was watching.
Captain Henderson was replaced by Harvey Elliott on the hour mark and earned a measly 5/10 in the Liverpool Echo’s player ratings. The story was far worse for Alexander-Arnold.
Jurgen Klopp spoke at length on Friday when coming to the defence of Alexander-Arnold. The 23-year-old has come in for strong criticism this season for failing to track runners and the ease in which he’s been beaten in one-v-ones.
However, Alexander-Arnold did his manager no favours against the Seagulls.
He was turned and then slipped for Leandro Trossard’s first goal. His lack of awareness contributed to the Belgian’s second and he was played around for the third.
The end result was failure to win again and the Liverpool Echo dishing out a dismal 3/10 rating. Their writer, Ian Doyle, described Alexander-Arnold’s performance as “awful” in the write-up.
[Source: eamtalk.com]