Why Liverpool’s next three Premier League games key for Bellingham hopes
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 1 Oct 2022 11:22 BST
- 3 min read
Liverpool’s aspirations of landing Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund are likely to rest heavily on their performances in their next three Premier League matches.
The 19-year-old is arguably the most wanted man in world football now. All of the leading Premier League clubs have been linked with a potential move for him, while Real Madrid are also strongly interested in him.
As revealed by FootballTransfers on Friday, Bellingham has yet to make a decision over where his future lies, despite previous reports suggesting that Los Blancos lead the race for the England international.
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One key factor in the midfielder’s thinking, though, is likely to be Champions League football. And with the teenager set to make his call early in 2023, it is vital that any club seriously eyeing him up is well positioned in the league.
With the World Cup punching a huge hole in the Premier League calendar in November and December, clubs are facing a sprint to get into contention by that point.
Liverpool under pressure
Liverpool are perhaps under the most pressure following a complicated start to the season. Jurgen Klopp’s men are down in eighth in the standings, four points behind fourth-placed Brighton, who have also played six games.
“Between now and the World Cup we are 'game, game, game'. It is persistent. It is relentless. But that's been our life at Liverpool for as long as I can remember. We have to embrace this challenge. See it as pressure of opportunity,” Klopp said on Friday.
But as well as being an opportunity, it is also treacherous and the next three games particularly so.
Liverpool play three of the top four teams in the league, and these matches are likely to go a long way to defining where they are at the start of the year, when Bellingham is set to make his decision.
Anfield clashes against Brighton and Manchester City sandwich a trip to Arsenal.
Win all three games, and suddenly Liverpool will be looking like title contenders; the type of team Bellingham would love to play for. But get only three or four points and the prospects of that precious Champions League spot would undoubtedly start to fade and with it the Reds’ chances of landing the Dortmund star.
