Liverpool's Bellingham alternative if they miss out on Kudus

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 11 Jan 2023 16:01 GMT
• 3 min read

Liverpool are desperate for a new midfielder and suddenly half of world football seem to be in for Jude Bellingham and the player they had lined up as alternative, Mohammed Kudus…

Liverpool's need for a midfielder is clear. James Milner and Jordan Henderson are 36 and 32 respectively, while each of Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Arthur Melo have struggled with injury this season.

Bellingham is their primary target, but after leading Borussia Dortmund out in the Champions League at 19, Manchester City and Real Madrid have entered the race, with Erling Haaland leaning on his former Borussia Dortmund teammate for the former.

READ: Bellingham set to follow Haaland with transfer decision

Kudus was also attracting interest with his Champions League performances for Ajax this season, but he was relatively under the radar until scoring twice in three games for Ghana at the World Cup. Now teammate Inaki Williams has tipped him for a move to Barcelona or Real.

— LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) December 2, 2022

Step forward: Sofyan Amrabat. The 26-year-old Fiorentina man has played every minute for Morocco as they topped Group F in Qatar ahead of Croatia and Belgium, and he has caught the eye of Jurgen Klopp and Co. at Anfield.

"News on Amrbat: been told that many clubs from the Premier League are observing him, especially Liverpool, next to Bellingham and [Moises] Caicedo," Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg posted on Twitter. "No negotions yet but he's open to leaving Fiorentina. Salary now around €3-4 million [per year] plus bonuses. Price tag is more than €30m for a key player!"

READ: Sofyan Amrab's Football Transfers profile

How good is Amrabat?

Born in the Netherlands, Amrabat was a Dutch youth international until changing his allegiance to Morocco at under-17 level. He has now racked up 42 caps for the Atlas Lions despite still being just 26.

A physically imposing six-footer, Amrabat has plenty of silk to go with his steal and as well as averaging two blocks per game over the last year in Serie A, he has also completed more than 90 per cent of his passes - all the more impressive considering six per 90 minutes of those have been progressive.