Callum Wilson has theory over why Liverpool have announced they no longer want Bellingham

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Liverpool’s public declaration that they will no longer pursue Jude Bellingham is nothing more than a negotiation tactic.

That’s the view of Newcastle United forward Callum Wilson. Speaking on the Footballer’s Football Podcast, Wilson gave his take on the big news from last week.

“Let’s be serious, they’re saying they are pulling out [of signing Bellingham] because they want the fee to reduce. This is football politics. Standard,” claimed the 31-year-old.

“Act like you’re not interested and then all of a sudden it’s like no, no, no, we want you.” Wilson also suggested that Liverpool should still be confident of luring Bellingham to Anfield, no matter the opposition to them doing so.

“Liverpool are a top football club so you should be optimistic about getting anyone in the door at the end of the day,” he said.

Wilson doesn’t buy Liverpool’s position

As always with Wilson and his co-host Michail Antonio, it’s interesting to hear a player’s perspective on such matters. For what it’s worth, Antonio didn’t agree with Wilson. Instead, the West Ham United forward claimed that Liverpool were never going to be able to afford Bellingham.

Obviously, neither player will have specific insight into Bellingham’s situation in this instance. But it should be pointed out that Wilson is an England teammate of the Borussia Dortmund man. He does know him personally.

Regardless of that though, it’s fascinating to hear that Liverpool’s public position has been treated with suspicion by some within the game. Borussia Dortmund legend Roman Weidenfeller has also publicly poured cold water over the idea that Liverpool are no longer interested.

From a fan’s point of view, the coordinated release of news by connected journalists was met with pure dismay. On closer inspection though, perhaps that was naive.

In such a high-stakes battle, maybe this was simply Liverpool’s first move. Despite some recent failures, they remain wily operators in the transfer market and have pulled these kinds of tricks before.

Obviously, it would be great news if this is purely what they’re doing this time around, too. It wouldn’t be a sign of victory in the Bellingham race, but it would at least signal that Liverpool are still very much trying to sign a generational player. All should become clear, or at least more clear, over the coming months. Let’s hope Wilson is right.