Jude Bellingham has elevated him to become one of the most in-demand elite midfielders in Europe. The 19-year-old is already Borussia Dortmund captain and is following the route of Erling Haaland – who joined Manchester City in the summer window last year.
Bellingham’s performances this season have been amazing and proof that he really does have that ‘world-class’ pedigree to his game. In 29 appearances for the German side, he scored 10 goals and has registered 6 assists so far.
The teenage sensation was also impressive in his debut World Cup for England, scoring in the win over Iran and even registering an assist in the win over Senegal. It’s quite by now that he has it in him to become a driving force for any major European side – with the capability to lead them to major titles for years to come.
Dortmund might be hopeful of holding onto their star attraction for a few more years, but the reality is that they will need to sell him in the summer. A number of clubs are reportedly in the race to sign him. But a few ‘major favorites’ are Liverpool and Real Madrid.
Liverpool have been great admirers of the midfielder for a long time and believe he can be a second-coming of Steven Gerrard for them. Real Madrid are aiming to replace their ageing midfielders and believe that Bellingham can be an ideal long-term successor to both Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.
Amid all the social media fanfare for him, Bellingham is yet to actually publicly voice his opinion on which team he wants to join. He has, although, been teasing a potential move to Liverpool for some time. The Englishman is close to Liverpool captain Jordan Hendeson as well as right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold – with whom he was seen training closely at the World Cup.
Bellingham has also reignited sparks of his desire to move to Anfield in the future with a subtle yet effective way of voicing his admiration for the club and their traditions. In a recent edition of Borussia Dortmund’s ‘Can you walk it?’ show with teammate Gio Reyna, they needed to sort Champions League winning teams in the right order in a fun little game.
In that edition, the duo were also asked to sing the entire rendition of some famous football chants and songs – including ‘You Never Walk Alone’. Now while this anthem is also sung by Dortmund fans, it has gained its reputation for the Liverpool supports bellowing it out at Anfield.
Bellingham confidently picked that song, even though Reyna didn’t seem too ecstatic by it – because he didn’t have a clue about the lyrics of that song. The English midfielder reassured him that he could do it, indicating that he must’ve watched an awful lot of Livrpool matches in the past – or that he has a very good ear to memorize it when the Dortmund fans occasionally sing it during games.
Understandably, a lot of Liverpool fans are now optimistic that Bellingham wants to join them in the summer and is indeed a supporter of their club. They are delighted that he already knows quite a lot about the Reds and can be a great fit for them as well.
The reality, however, isn’t so pretty. Even if Liverpool does want to complete a move for the Englishman and can finalize terms with them, convincing Dortmund won’t be easy. The German giants are likely to demand well over £100m – meaning Liverpool will have to break their transfer record to do so.
Whether they can dish out that much amount on a single transfer amid uncertainty over their ownership situation is still unclear, but one thing is looking almost certain is that Bellingham would gladly accept a move to Anfield and help take Liverpool to the next level.