Jude Bellingham turned down a move to Liverpool whilst he was playing at U11 level for Birmingham City.
That’s according to The Athletic, who claim that the midfielder spent two days at Liverpool’s academy almost a decade ago.
Bellingham reportedly took part in a training session and was given a tour of the facilities, as Liverpool tried to woo him. The Reds are said to have even got as far as planning which school the youngster would enrol at.
Unfortunately though, Bellingham turned down Liverpool. Reportedly unwilling to uproot the family from Brimingham, Bellingham’s parents decided against the move.
As a result, Liverpool missed out on signing a generational talent for just £9,000. If they are successful in their pursuit of Bellingham this summer, he could reportedly cost them almost 15,000 times that amount.
Liverpool hoping for more success this time around
It wasn’t just a move to Liverpool which was turned down by the Bellingham’s. It’s also claimed that Manchester City and Chelsea were similarly rejected as Jude stayed put in Birmingham.
Of course, the young star did eventually leave his home-town – for Borussia Dortmund in 2020. But by that time, he was already an established member of the first team at Birmingham.
In the scheme of things, it’s probable that Bellingham’s parents made the right decision. Had he joined Liverpool, Chelsea or City, there’s no guarantee that he would have become the player that he has.
Academies at the top level are notoriously more difficult to navigate and young players don’t always get the chances they’re due.
Liverpool won’t see it that way, no doubt. It must also be said that you’d expect Jurgen Klopp would have recognised the youngster’s talent and give him a shot with the seniors.
Either way, it’s no use agonising over. Liverpool will just have to put everything they can into convincing Bellingham that now is the right time to join the club.
As it was in the past, the Bellingham’s are going to have the pick of clubs to choose from for their son. The Athletic claim that interested club’s ‘priority’ in their pursuit of Jude is to get his dad, Mark, on-side.
Hopefully Liverpool have more luck doing that next summer than they did in their previous attempt.
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