Jude Bellingham: Liverpool job offer to his father Mark sees Klopp elbow Real Madrid aside in transfer race
Liverpool are barging their way right to the front of the queue to sign Jude Bellingham amid claims the Reds are ready to employ his father Mark in a role at Anfield.
The England midfielder finds himself one of the most in-demand stars in world football right now. Signing for Borussia Dortmund from Birmingham in summer 2020 has been the making of the teenager. Already a hugely-promising talent, his displays for BVB in both the Champions League and the Bundesliga have taken his game on to another level.
Still only 19, there are a plethora of top clubs all queuing up to sign the 22-times capped England star. That race is seemingly led by Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp desperate to bring the midfielder to Anfield.
Indeed, Klopp’s midfield issues are well documented. James Milner turned 37 earlier this month and there is a growing theory this will be his last season on Merseyside.
In addition, both Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are out of contract in June and free to leave this summer. That said, after recently returning from fitness, our exclusive revealed why Klopp remains open to either player staying.
Regardless of their fate, Klopp will likely be pushing to sign two new midfielders this year. And Bellingham is very much his No 1 target.
That’s despite claims Dortmund could seek as much as £130m with bonuses for the star.
Understandably, the race to sign him remains fierce. In addition to Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City are both lurking. However, we did exclusively reveal back in November why one Premier League side were being ruled out the equation.
Perhaps the strongest competition for Liverpool, though, comes from Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Liverpool barge Real Madrid aside with Bellingham ‘cheat offer’
And reports in the Spanish media claims Los Blancos are ready to go all out to lure Bellingham to the Spanish capital.
All in all, it remains something of an open race as to where the player ends up next.
However, reports in Spain – as cited by Football365 – suggest Liverpool are readying a ‘cheat offer’ to win the transfer race.
And they claim they are ready to offer his father, Mark, – a former policeman – a job as a scout with the club. In addition, the Reds are also keeping tabs on the progress of Jude’s younger brother Jobe, who is breaking through at Birmingham.
However, by keeping it in the family, Liverpool may well have elbowed Real out of the race.
In addition, the Merseysiders are also reportedly willing to offer Jude bigger wages than at the Bernabeu.
The possibility of seeing regular action will also come into Bellingham’s thinking. Being a regular at Dortmund, he will not want to see his progress stunted by being in and out of his next team’s starting XI.
At Real, competition for shirts is tough. They already boast Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde as young central midfield options. And while Toni Kroos is likely to depart this summer, fellow veteran Luka Modric will sign an extension.
Any move for Bellingham, though, is unlikely to go through this month with a summer switch more likely. However, it seems increasingly likely that the star will finally make his way on to the Premier League stage next season.
