Rumour Mongering: Liverpool Lead Race for Bellingham

The Mirror is claiming that Liverpool FC is in the lead for Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham. Now, this shouldn’t be much of a surprise, considering the stories club-connected journalists had published earlier this year regarding the interest the club has in the 18-year-old English midfielder. It’s something the club doesn’t really do unless they are absolutely head over heels in love with a player - reminders of Naby Keita and Virgil van Dijk’s transfer pursuits come to mind.

This particular report claims that Liverpool will look to capitalise on a transfer market distracted by Erling Haaland’s rumoured £75m release clause. However, Dortmund could look to triple their investment in Bellingham with a fee of £90m, breaking the club transfer record previously set by Virgil van Dijk’s transfer (£75m). Bellingham’s former club Birmingham are also watching his future closely as they have a lucrative sell-on fee to gain from any potential transfer.

So, all in all, not much new information here, other than the fact that Liverpool still has the hots for Bellingham. It feels a little like an attempt to capitalise on the furore surrounding Bellingham’s outburst over the officiating in the Dortmund vs Bayern game from the weekend. (Sorry, Jude, the referees here are worse.) However, the prospect of a fearless all-around midfielder who idolised Steven Gerrard growing up remains very enticing. Bellingham would instantly drop the mean age of Liverpool’s ageing midfield by quite a few digits should the LFC sporting hierarchy pull this off, and could figure to be a mainstay in the engine room for years to come.