Liverpool's trump card to seal Bellingham ahead of Chelsea and Madrid
Robin Bairner
- 28 Sept 2022 09:24 BST
- 3 min read
Jude Bellingham’s future is set to be a major topic of football transfer news before next summer, with Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid just three sides ready for a bidding war over the player.
Previous reports suggested that the former Birmingham City youngster’s preferred option was Real Madrid, but with a contract that runs until June 2025, he will have little say in which bidder Dortmund prefer to listen to.
This is where Liverpool can come in with a decisive move, according to Bild.
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Keita can give Liverpool crucial edge in Bellingham race
Indeed, it is claimed that the Reds can make a decisive offer for Bellingham by giving Dortmund the opportunity to sign Naby Keita in a part-exchange deal. The prospect of adding the Guinea international to their ranks as a like-for-like replacement is one that Dortmund are apparently keen on.
Certainly, this would appear to be an ideal opportunity for Liverpool to rid themselves of a rare transfer flop. Signed in 2018 from RB Leipzig, there was a high burden of expectation on a player who joined for €60 million but has seen his value fade to just a fraction of that.
Nevertheless, the 27-year-old continues to enjoy a strong reputation in Germany, where he shone for Leipzig – the type of form that BVB would hope he could return to should they include him in a swap deal.
Chelsea and Real Madrid are unlikely to have similar players they can use. It is unlikely that N’Golo Kante or Jorginho would move to Dortmund, despite the Blues considering the future of both players, and in any case, the World Cup winner will be a free agent at the end of the season. Similarly, Madrid’s best pawn in such a deal would be Toni Kroos, but his deal at the Bernabeu is also up next June.
Of course, Liverpool would still be forced to spend big on Bellingham, who is widely expected to move for a fee greater than €100 million. He further enhanced his reputation on international duty with England, but it has been with Dortmund that he has truly shone this season, notably scoring two goals in two Champions League matches for his side.
Bellingham has reached the 100-game mark for Dortmund but is expected to depart in 2023 having seen Erling Haaland explode in the Premier League with Manchester City, who are another club Liverpool will have to fight in order to secure his transfer.
Read more about: La Liga, Bundesliga, Premier League, Chelsea, Dortmund, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Jude Bellingham
