Why Liverpool are frontrunners for Bellingham after Real Madrid doubts

Suraj Radia

• 8 Dec 2022 16:11 GMT
• 2 min read

Real Madrid may be priced out of a move for Jude Bellingham following his performances at the World Cup, which could ignite a bidding war to make the Dortmund midfielder one of the most expensive players of all time.

Bellingham has been integral for England so far in Qatar, starting all four games on course to the quarter-finals and reports have suggested Dortmund could demand as much as €150 million for the 19-year-old.

A fee in that region has been described as ‘escaping all logic’ by Marca, who believe the club’s ‘economic stability’ could be jeopardised by such an outlay, despite Real treating Bellingham as a priority target.

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The Spanish side had identified Bellingham as the ideal supplement to their midfield, with Toni Kroos and Luka Modric both in the twilight of their careers and out of contract in the summer.

However, with Bellingham’s price continuing to rise, Real may look elsewhere despite putting in months of work to add the teenager to their young midfield core of Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga.

The club are now hoping the player will push for move to Madrid, thus allowing them to bid lower, although there is also speculation that Bellingham could further raise his asking price by signing a new deal at Dortmund before being sold on.

Liverpool in pole position

Real’s stance could pave the way for Liverpool to have a clear run at Bellingham, with Jurgen Klopp’s side now considered the frontrunners to sign him next summer, with a potential failure to qualify for Champions League football not believed to be a dealbreaker.

Bellingham is expected to formally tell Dortmund after the World Cup of his desire to leave and his family are believed to prefer a move to Liverpool, despite the interest of Real, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, among other sides.

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Liverpool have been chasing Bellingham for a number of years, opting against signing stopgap solutions to their midfield problems in order to make him a marquee arrival when the situation allowed it.

Bellingham has developed a close relationship with Reds duo Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold during the World Cup and Liverpool have been in regular contact with the player’s family to convince them of a move.

The only stumbling block for Liverpool is that they are understood to be some way apart from Dortmund’s valuation for Bellingham, although the two sides are expected to eventually reach an agreement.