Darren Bent suggests there’s a player Liverpool should sign instead of Mason Mount

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It would be a step down for Liverpool to target Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher instead of Jude Bellingham.

Both Mount and Gallagher have emerged as transfer options for Liverpool after they pulled out of the race to sign Bellingham. But speaking to TalkSPORT, Bent claimed that although both good players, the Chelsea duo can’t hold a candle to Jude.

“In any squad you need competition. Conor Gallagher’s a good player, you don’t get to the level he’s got to if you’re not a good player. Mason Mount’s a good player. Again, no disrespect to Mount or Gallagher, but it you’ve got the opportunity to get Jude Bellingham and that doesn’t happen, they are a second option,” said the former striker, while discussing Liverpool’s transfer strategy.

“If I’ve got the option, I’m going Bellingham. It’s not a bad option, Mount’s a good player, Gallagher’s a good player, but Bellingham’s one of the best.”

No qualms here, but Bent seems to omitting the key detail that Liverpool currently don’t have a choice. Bellingham is no longer on the table. By all accounts, Mount and Gallagher very much are.

Liverpool opt to play the numbers game

This is pretty much the question that Liverpool’s recruitment team will have been weighing up for months. Do they spend the Bellingham money on two or possibly even three players, or put it all on the Borussia Dortmund man.

Ultimately, it seems as though the former solution has won out over the latter. Only time will tell whether that ends up being the right decision.

Right now, Liverpool’s fan base is probably split. In terms of the specific question Bent poses, then yes, most supporters would probably take just Bellingham over Mount and Gallagher together.

But swap the unpopular Gallagher for Moises Caciedo, or Declan Rice, and the answer is probably different. Would you take Mount and Rice over just Bellingham for the same or similar price? Surely most fans would.

So, as upset as people are over losing out on Bellingham, Liverpool can still make this summer a big success. Whether supporters trust them to do that without a sporting director at the helm is debateable. But it’s very possible.

Clearly, Bellingham is the gold standard. He’s the player everybody wanted. Now that it isn’t going to happen though, it’s for the best that fans move on and focus on more attainable targets.