Liverpool has pulled a massive shock in one of football’s highest-profile transfer sagas, reportedly withdrawing their interest in England’s $250m teen sensation Jude Bellingham.
19-year-old Bellingham, currently at Borussia Dortmund, is rated as one of the finest youngsters in world football and has already established himself as a valuable member of England’s midfield.
But after years of chasing his signature – and crucially, not spending the money on other midfield options – the Reds have finally given up the pursuit.
The decision has caused outrage among Liverpool fans, especially since the club’s failure to reinforce the midfield in the off-season predictably led to a dismal campaign.
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After an incredibly gruelling 63-game season last year, Jurgen Klopp’s Reds were in dire need of reinforcements.
But Liverpool largely failed to reinforce their midfield after failing to sign their top target in Bellingham, also missing out on Aurelien Tchouameni to Real Madrid. Their only arrival was a desperate last-gasp move for Brazilian Arthur from Juventus – and that was on loan, a sign he was never more than a stopgap in Liverpool’s long-term rebuild of their engine room.
Instead, the Reds added firepower up front in the form of a £64 million bid (plus add-ons) for Darwin Nunez, while making clear that they were prepared to wait 12 months for Dortmund to be willing to part with Bellingham.
It was obvious then that a bidding war for the teen’s services would reignite at the end of this season, given Real Madrid, Manchester City, Paris Saint‑Germain and Chelsea were all also strongly chasing Bellingham.
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Bellingham has put together an outstanding body of work again this season, with 10 goals and five assists in 37 appearances for the German club. His standout performances for the Three Lions at the World Cup in Qatar, where he notched a goal and an assist and generally impressed, meant his price tag rocketed further.
After Chelsea splashed a British record £106m ($A198m) for Enzo Fernandez in January, Dortmund understandably expected a transfer fee that would comfortably surpass that figure.
The Guardian reports Dortmund are chasing a fee of £135m ($A252m) plus add-ons, while transfer guru Fabrizio Romano labelled the likely outlay a “package worth more than £130m” ($A243m).
Liverpool always appeared to lead Real Madrid as the favourites for the youngster’s signature, having followed him since he was a member of Birmingham City’s academy.
But according to many reports, the club hierarchy decided to walk away from the bidding war and will instead undertake a more widespread overhaul of the playing group.
The need for a radical reshaping of the squad has become painfully clear this season as the Reds tumbled to lows never before experienced in Klopp’s seven-year reign at the club – the longest tenure of any current Premier League manager.
The midfield, as it was last year, is the biggest problem. Age, form, and injuries have all conspired to produce a genuine crisis.
Captain Jordan Henderson is 32 years old, as is Thiago, with the reliable James Milner 37.
Where the Reds needed fresh legs and energy in the engine room, they instead had to rely on the veteran legs of Milner and co far more than Klopp would have like.
The outcome was predictable – Liverpool’s extremely high-intensity style of play has become tired, belaboured.
There are problems elsewhere, of course – too many problems to count.
Virgil van Dijk has been a shadow of his usual world-beating self in defence, while the defensive frailties of star right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold have been exposed with regularity.
The Reds are languishing in eighth in the Premier League and at risk of missing out on the top four and Champions League qualification for the first time since Klopp’s maiden season at Anfield. Liverpool are also out of both domestic cups and the Champions League.
In essence, the season has been disastrous by their standards – but it is the midfield that has been most sorely exposed.
WHY THE MIDFIELD NEEDS A COMPLETE REBUILD
32-year-old Henderson is one of many whose form has dipped. Defensive midfielder Fabinho has never played so poorly since his arrival in 2018, while Naby Keita has been limited to just eight league appearances after battling injuries and falling out of favour.
Thiago and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have suffered long-term injuries while Arthur has hardly played a minute.
The best run of form by any Liverpool midfielder came from an unlikely source – 18-year-old Stefan Bajcetic, who starred after bursting into the starting line-up in late January. He was a standout as he featured in eight consecutive league games, only to suffer an abductor tear three weeks ago that will end his season. The brightest light from Liverpool’s midfield this season was snuffed out.
When it comes to the future of the Liverpool midfield, Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Milner are all out of contract.
Bajcetic, 20-year-old Harvey Elliot and perhaps 22-year-old Curtis Jones appear long-term options, while Thiago is still world class – when he’s fit.
Besides that, the group seemingly needs a complete overhaul. Instead of the one midfield signing they desperately needed last season, the Reds now clearly need at least two signings in that area (now their reported aim) – without even mentioning the need to reinforce elsewhere on the pitch.
Which is exactly why they have turned away from Bellingham. His price tag reduces their capacity to spend elsewhere, while the likelihood of a drawn-out transfer war for his services means other targets could foreseeable be sold to rivals by the time a Bellingham deal is eventually done – if indeed he chose Liverpool after all.
Asked last week about the need for transfer activity at the end of the season, Klopp may have hinted at a decision to walk away from Bellingham.
“Whatever we do next year will never be enough from people’s point of view and your [the media’s] point of view,” he said.
“But yes, with smart recruitment we will improve – definitely. That is the plan.
“We cannot make 24 changes and say, ‘here we go’ – not even 10 – but it is just that we have to make changes, smart changes, and then we go again.”
But Liverpool fans have long pinned their hopes on signing Bellingham – or at the very least, going all out to fight Real Madrid and co for his signature. In many ways, it was the light at the end of the tunnel that is a disastrous season.
That hope has been ripped away – and the reaction to Liverpool’s decision has been swift and damning.
The Times’ Tom Roddy told Sky Sports News: “It is a massive blow for Liverpool. It just shows the direction that both club and player are likely to go this summer. It underlines just how expensive Liverpool expect Bellingham to be.
“He is going to be a record-breaking signing for British football as a midfielder, likely to usurp the £106m that Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernandez in January.
“The assumption will be that it’s Real Madrid, because they were the two leading clubs. I do think there’s a possibility that he stays at Borussia Dortmund because I don’t think he wants to rush into anything at all … [but] The assumption will be that he leaves this summer.”
As Football Insider reporter David Lynch wrote on social media: “The failure to sign a midfielder last summer was characterised as a refusal to compromise on targets.
“Yet Liverpool’s first choice in that position, a player pursued over several years, has now been deemed out of reach for reasons they could have easily predicted 12 months ago.
“Consequently, they will now chase alternatives, some of whom could have been secured the year prior and without the need to write off an entire season.”
This season could get even worse if they miss out on Champions League qualification. Not only does the top continental competition provide a key lure for transfer targets, the millions of dollars in missed participation money could force the club’s American owners to dig deeper into their pockets to fund the much-needed squad overhaul.
This season could get even worse if they miss out on Champions League qualification. Not only does the top continental competition provide a key lure for transfer targets, the millions of dollars in missed participation money could force the club’s American owners to dig deeper into their pockets to fund the much-needed squad overhaul.
As the Bellingham saga shows, their willingness to splash the cash when needed is under question, as is the club hierarchy’s long-term planning and transfer approach in general.
After wasting a season, the transfer window will go a long way to answering those questions – for better or worse.
