Liverpool
Premier League • England
Jude Bellingham cost shockingly takes nosedive to hand Liverpool, Man City and Real Madrid major boost
The amount Liverpool, Manchester City or Real Madrid will have to pay for Jude Bellingham has surprisingly fallen amid claims he has a secret release clause.
Bellingham will likely be on the move at the end of the season as Borussia Dortmund will struggle to keep hold of him. Pretty much all of Europe’s top teams have been linked with moves to sign the central midfielder amid his top performances for Dortmund and England.
Chelsea and Manchester United have previously been named as potential suitors for Bellingham. But right now it seems Liverpool, City and Real are the clubs with the best chance of landing him.
Liverpool were handed a double blow in their Bellingham pursuit on December 24. Spanish newspaper AS claimed the battle for the 19-year-old is so complex that Liverpool have decided against getting involved.
And The Sun revealed that Liverpool would struggle to sign him due to rival interest from City, with Pep Guardiola’s side growing increasingly confident about making the move a reality.
But the Daily Mail have now come forward with a conflicting stance. They state Bellingham remains Liverpool’s main transfer target for next summer, even after they have agreed to sign Cody Gakpo.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Gakpo will swap PSV for Liverpool in January for an initial £37million. PSV could also receive an extra £13m in add-ons, depending on certain clauses.
Despite this outlay, Liverpool have still set aside what they deem to be enough money for Bellingham. Although, valuations of the Dortmund ace vary.
Huge update on Jude Bellingham transfer
Some reports have claimed he could be available for £90m, while others suggest his transfer value to sit at an eye-watering £130m.
The Daily Mail’s report gives Liverpool, City and Real a serious boost by stating Bellingham could instead leave Dortmund for just £60m.
They claim to know about a release clause in Bellingham’s contract which means he can leave for that price. However, this still needs verifying from a top source like Romano or David Ornstein.
A release clause would completely change how the hunt for Bellingham goes. Without one, there would likely be a bidding war between Liverpool, City and Real for him. City’s huge spending power would probably put them in pole position if this happened.
Star and his family will get final decision
But with a release clause, all three of those teams will be able to match it and then present offers to Bellingham and his family. It will then be their decision about where the wonderkid goes next.
Liverpool will feel confident about winning the race for Bellingham if it comes down to this. After all, he has a great relationship with England team-mates Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold and was regularly pictured alongside them during the World Cup.
Then there is also the lure of playing under Jurgen Klopp. He can be very convincing when urging players to join Liverpool, too.
However, City cannot be ruled out. Bellingham is friends with Erling Haaland from their Dortmund days. And the striker will probably try to convince Bellingham to go to the Etihad.
And City have a world-class manager of their own in Guardiola. A lot of top stars would love to play under him thanks to his huge success at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now City.
It will be intriguing to see where Bellingham ends up come next summer. And it will be equally interesting to find out whether he leaves through a release clause or bidding war.
Meanwhile, Klopp has given his reaction after Liverpool beat Aston Villa 3-1 away from home on Boxing Day.