Liverpool must cement any plans to sign Jude Bellingham after Manchester City struck their own deal to sign a midfielder. The Reds will run out of options.
Reports all over the place say that Manchester City are on the brink of signing Kalvin Phillips from Leeds United. The BBC are one of those, claiming there’s a £45m deal in place.
That’s a fantastic signing for City, assuming it goes through. They’re picking up a really capable centre-midfielder who can do a bit of everything. Phillips will likely improve under Pep Guardiola, too, and may be worth more than £45m in as little as a year.
There’s a reason, after all, that we thought he’d be a good signing for Liverpool.
We believe this is a deal that the Reds should react to, in fact. Phillips isn’t just a great player but also a homegrown talent – something that’s a serious boost to any ambitious squad. And for that reason, Liverpool should cement any plans to sign Jude Bellingham.
Liverpool and their Jude Bellingham plans
A Premier League squad can have a maximum of 17 non-homegrown players – i.e. players who developed outside of English or Welsh football. Elite English footballers, then, carry a great benefit to the squad as they make other transfer far more flexible.
Liverpool boast a few in their first-team squad. There’s Caoimhin Kelleher in goal, Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, Joe Gomez at centre-back, and Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott in the middle.
But here’s the problem – a lot of those players have major question marks over their future. The most obvious is Milner – he’s out of contract next summer and will be 37. Oxlade-Chamberlain, too, will likely leave on a free transfer next summer.
Gomez’s future isn’t certain, either, as he’s currently fourth-choice at the back. And then there’s Henderson – now 32 and with a questionable injury record.
Liverpool will lose a lot of their homegrown talent, then, and the most obvious area to add some is in midfield where players will soon leave. This brings us to Bellingham.
Fabrizio Romano is ‘sure’ that Liverpool will enter the race for the teenager next summer. We’d be shocked if they didn’t, in truth. Bellingham ticks every box under the sun as a midfield signing – including being homegrown.
And other top-quality options like Phillips and Declan Rice could well be off the market completely in a year. Bellingham will likely be the best and only choice for Liverpool to boost their quota in midfield, while also adding genuine world-class ability.
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