After what seems like a lifetime, the international break is over, with Liverpool returning to Premier League action on Saturday lunchtime. One of England’s stand out players over the last ten days was Jude Bellingham. The 18-year-old has been receiving praise from a variety of sources, including his international teammate, Jack Grealish.
Reds captain Jordan Henderson described Bellingham as a ‘…fantastic player, I’ve got nothing but good things to say about him.’ A host of British newspapers have linked the Dortmund star with a move to the Premier League, with Liverpool among the names mentioned as potential suitors.
On the latest episode of our Journo Insight Show, we asked goal.com’s Neil Jones on the chances of seeing Bellingham in a red shirt the future.
Neil said:
“To go back to Bild, I think they wrote a story this week saying its more likely that he leaves Dortmund. Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Liverpool were the three clubs linked. They were saying all of them would prefer a 2023 deal. You have a bit of a succession plan from a Real Madrid point of view with Modric and Kroos. He’d be perfect after another year of growing and maybe playing at the World Cup. A lot of Liverpool fans would prefer him right here, right now, rather than waiting a year. If it means ‘we can get him, then we’ll give you another year with him’ a bit like Naby Keita. It’s obvious he is going to move somewhere. He’s going to go what you would call a superclub in Europe. it’s just a question of who, and when.”
Redmen Reacts
Bellingham seems to be on a path to the very top and would be able to make an impact in the short, medium and long term. The West Midlands midfielder has an almost unique skillset. He is comfortable on the ball, can pass, dribble and shoot, but does not neglect the defensive side of the game. He would likely become Liverpool’s record signing, but at the age of just 18, could potentially star for the club for 15 years or more.
LFC’s transfer committee have nailed all of their big money signings in the Klopp era. All available evidence suggests that Bellingham would continue that trend. If he were to arrive in 2023, he could take minutes off the likes of Jordan Henderson and Thiago whilst not being relied upon to play every single game. This would ease the load on his body and help prevent a late career tail-off in the same vein as Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney. With the likely departure of Erling Braut Haaland coming this year, the Reds may well have to wait before Bellingham is available. Let us all hope they are at the front of the queue when he is.
