Liverpool lead the race for Jude Bellingham over Manchester United, according to reports. The Reds’ rivals must now look elsewhere.
This comes from the Daily Star. They claim Liverpool are leading the race for Jude Bellingham, forcing Manchester United to look for an alternative.
That alternative will likely be Kalvin Phillips, apparently. United don’t like West Ham United’s asking price for Declan Rice, making his England teammate a better option.
Liverpool, it seems, just saw their plan get a little easier.
Liverpool beating United to Bellingham
The Star isn’t usually the strongest source in the world for something like this, so take it all with a pinch of salt. We entirely believe that Liverpool would like Bellingham, though.
He’s one of the brightest prospects around and ticks Homegrown boxes, too. The only real issue is that he’ll likely cost a fortune.
The kind of fortune that Liverpool don’t typically pay. Not for players who aren’t the finished article, anyway. Bellingham, who’s still only 18, certainly isn’t that yet.
There’s little doubt about him being a perfect transfer target, though. We can’t imagine a better replacement for Jordan Henderson and if that was the plan, Liverpool should really just pay whatever it takes.
The whole thing is likely premature, however. Dortmund have been very, very good at holding onto prospects until they want to sell and they surely won’t let Bellingham go in 2022.
Erling Haaland is widely reported to be off next year, leaving little reason to sell Bellingham. 2023 is likely Liverpool’s best bet.
A lot can happen between now and then, though. Liverpool could be leading the race right now but by 2023? Who can possibly predict?
The only certainty is that the club will have to put up serious money to sign the wonderkid. The jury is out on whether Liverpool will ever be willing to do that.
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