Liverpool refused to meet with £105m player this summer, they didn’t want to upset Jude Bellingham

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Liverpool chose not to get involved in the race to sign Declan Rice this summer, as they were so focused on Jude Bellingham.

Rice has finalised a move from West Ham United to Arsenal today, the final transfer fee making him the most expensive British player of all time. According to BBC Sport, the 24-year-old will cost the Gunners an eye-watering £105m.

And delving into the transfer a little bit, The Athletic touch on Liverpool’s supposed interest in bringing Rice to Anfield.

They claim that the Reds chose to ‘steer clear of even meeting the Rices’ amid their bid to sign Bellingham.

All Liverpool minds at the time were reportedly focused on winning the battle for the then Borussia Dortmund youngster. As a result, the Reds supposedly ignored any possibility of speaking to Rice. They didn’t want to ‘irk’ Bellingham’s camp.

In the end, Liverpool may as well have tried their luck with the West Ham skipper. Bellingham ended up signing for Real Madrid anyway.

Liverpool say no to Rice battle

Some will perhaps be frustrated by Liverpool’s stance here. Maybe it would have been better to keep their options open with both Rice and Bellingham.

But, all things considered, the now Real Madrid man always felt like the more likely signing.

With Rice seemingly keen to stay in London and always leaning towards a move for Arsenal, it’s probably a race Liverpool never thought they could win.

In the end, the Reds have missed out on both players. But, truthfully, it’s unlikely they’ll lose too much sleep over Rice in particular.

He would have been an incredible replacement for the outgoing Fabinho, that’s true. However, signing the England man would have obliterated their whole budget.

Bellingham was eventually deemed too expensive, and had probably chosen Real Madrid anyway. But Rice has ended up costing even more than the 20-year-old. Given the rebuild needed at Anfield, it just wasn’t feasible.

Of course, they could end up regretting their decisions this summer. Liverpool needed midfielders and these were two of the very best on the market this summer. Anyway, there’s no use crying over spilled Rice milk.