Jurgen Klopp opens up on chances of Liverpool completing blockbuster Jude Bellingham deal amid midfielder’s ‘only problem’

Jurgen Klopp has ruled out a move by Liverpool for Jude Bellingham this summer due to the “only problem” with the midfielder, while defending his current options.

Liverpool are believed to have completed their incoming business for the summer after signing Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay. Some think they still need another midfielder, but they seem more likely to wait in that regard.

There is a belief that they will look at Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham next year. The England international is one of the world’s biggest prospects in his role.

However, Klopp has ruled out any chance of Liverpool preponing their pursuit of Bellingham to this summer.

The Liverpool manager told reporters: “He’s not on the market, so that’s the first problem with that player. Well, the only problem with that player!”

With Bellingham ruled out for now – he has a contract until 2025 – Liverpool could always turn to other targets in the meantime. But Klopp does not see much sense in the idea of adding another midfielder now.

Asked if Liverpool will try to sign a central player, he replied: “No, I can say that.

“I don’t think something will happen in midfield, but you never know. If somebody comes to you and says, ‘I want to go…’

“Nobody came to me yet, but if that happens then we have to talk new. But if the situation stays like it is, then tell me why?

“I don’t understand. I do not understand. People told me about this discussion, but the last thing that would have crossed my mind is that we have to do this.

“I know all these things, that we don’t score enough goals from midfield, this and that, but what do we want? This ‘Golden Cow’ that is producing absolutely everything, milk as well!

“We can go through it. Where do you want to start? So, Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago, Milner, Keita, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Fabio Carvalho, Oxlade-Chamberlain. Now you tell me what kind of player are we missing? One who is offensive, 1.95m and arrives into the box to head balls in? OK, apart from that!

“We have three players in the squad who can easily play as a No.6 – Fabinho, of course, but Hendo and Milly played it fine.

“Creativity? If we bring in a player just for that, we immediately make it more difficult for Harvey, Curtis and Fabio.

“They can all play different positions as well of course; Curtis can play a line higher and Harvey and Fabio can play there too. Fine. We can play a different system as well, where we might only need two midfielders, but then all these guys can play as a No.10 in the new system.

“So where is the need for a midfielder? The day when somebody comes to me and tells me why exactly.”

It is interesting to note that Klopp was hinting at a switch from a 4-3-3 to what could be a 4-2-3-1 system. Only time will tell how Liverpool line up game by game.

Klopp to put faith in youth during Jude Bellingham wait

But their manager clearly believes they have plenty of options to make it work. Within that, there are several players in a similar age group to Jude Bellingham ready to make an impact.

Asked if he has a place in his plans for the likes of Elliott, Jones and Carvalho, the German responded: “Of course I do. And we should not forget that last season, in the first four games, Harvey Elliott was the best player. He was outstanding.

“Then he had a bad injury, came back, [he was] high, low. Normal for a young player, and normal after a long injury. He looks sharp now, he’s back, and like everybody he needs luck.

Klopp wants Jude Bellingham but he’ll have to wait

Liverpool want to sign Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund but they will have to wait until next summer

“Curtis Jones – what a player he is as well. Oxlade-Chamberlain, he played the first part of the season quite a lot, and in January played different positions. Yes, he didn’t play a lot after that but [remember] how good he was.

“Fabio, you look at him and what he did at Fulham. Why should we bring a boy in and tell him he is midfielder number nine. It makes no sense. You have to leave the doors open for the boys. I really don’t understand the discussion.

“We always try to improve, and we can improve internally as well. They can put pressure on the more experienced guys, for sure. By the way, Tyler Morton in training, incredible! He plays as a No.8 now, we don’t force him to play as a controlling No.6 in a Premier League game [like v Spurs in December 2021]. He’s training as an 8, and it’s like ‘wow, how good is that?!’ He’s still here.

“There’s really a lot of excitement for this situation from our side, and like I say, if you want guarantees then you have to look somewhere else. We work a lot with expectations, and our starting point most of the time is very, very positive.”

Some clues as to how Liverpool may line up this season may come when their pre-season schedule begins on Tuesday with a friendly against Manchester United in Thailand.

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