Liverpool could use Haaland as smokescreen to land Bellingham
Liverpool have made Jude Bellingham their top target next summer.
And they hope to take advantage of their Premier League rivals' obsession with his Borussia Dortmund teammate Erling Haaland to steal a step on the hunt for his signature.
Bellingham has impressed for both Dortmund and England this term and is beginning to fulfil the potential that convinced the German giants to splash £20.7 million on him in July 2020.
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And Anfield chiefs hope that rivals Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United will be too busy competing for striker Haaland to notice their attempts to convince Bellingham to switch to Liverpool at the end of the season.
United have previously been linked with a move for Bellingham, and his fine form in Germany's top league had also alerted City and Chelsea.
Liverpool to focus on midfield rather than Haaland
But a move for both players would likely prove unfeasible, and with Liverpool's forward line scoring goals for fun this season, it's thought manager Jurgen Klopp would prefer to reinforce his midfield than his strikeforce.
Currently, Klopp's main options in midfield include Jordan Henderson, 31, Fabinho, 28 and Thiago, 30, and Bellingham's youth would mean he could fit into the Reds midfield for the next decade.
Klopp hasn't been deterred by Bellingham's price tag, thought to be in the region of £90m.
It would make the young England star Liverpool's most expensive ever signing ahead of Virgil Van Dijk, who cost £75m.
Bellingham hit the news this week when he questioned the appointment of referee Felix Zwayer in Dortmund's match against Bayern Munich.
He was fined £34,000 by the German FA after referring to the official's previous six-month ban for a match-fixing scandal in 2005.
Bellingham's potential
Able to play in central midfield or on either wing, the 18-year-old has scored twice and provided five assists in the Bundesliga this season.
He has ten caps for England, making his debut when 17-years-old and becoming the country's third-youngest player in a 3-0 Friendly win over the Republic of Ireland.
