Former Arsenal and England defender Sol Campbell has advised teenage sensation Jude Bellingham to snub a move to Anfield in favour of a "perfect" move to Real Madrid.
The Englishman is one of the game's most coveted stars at the moment with Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United all reportedly gearing themselves up for the highly-anticipated battle for his signature when he is expected to leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has been candid in his admiration of Bellingham, who saw his stock increase vastly with a string of fine performances at the World Cup last month, and Anfield officials have been fans of the midfielder since his days as an eleven-year-old at Birmingham City's academy - when he was invited for a trial with the Reds.
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Additionally, with James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita all out of contract at the end of the season, Bellingham is one of Liverpool's top targets and someone who could significantly lower the number of the Reds' ever-ageing options in the centre of the park.
But with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, two honourable members of the 14-time European Cup winners' success over the last decade, both out of contract, factored in with the club's strict over-30s contract extension policy, Madrid could potentially make a lucrative offer in an attempt to convince Bellingham to join Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde as the heirs to Modric and Kroos' throne.
But although the pressures of representing a club as deep-rooted in history as Los Blancos would be enormous, Campbell believes a move to La Liga would be the perfect next step of Bellingham's career.
“Real Madrid is obviously one of the great historical teams and the way he playing, if he goes in the same direction, he would be perfect for Real Madrid because he is very young," said the former Arsenal defender.
“He's way ahead in a lot of things, he just needs the right club and the right manager to guide him in the right direction, that's all, and the right environment, because sometimes you can go to the wrong environment and so you waste your talent for a few years.
“If he goes to Madrid, he will improve the team, but also the club can keep him in the future. It is a club that knows what to do with young players, to make sure they are going in the right direction and continue to perform.
“And at Real Madrid, if you're good, you stay a long time. They keep all the really good players and Bellingham is one of the best young players. You just need the right environment to keep your feet on the ground and keep learning.”
He added: “I think he would be perfect for Real Madrid because they will improve. Obviously, at the beginning it would be difficult because he is young and then you know, Real Madrid is a very big club and you have to handle the pressure, but once he gets used to that, he has the right environment around him.”
“He already left Birmingham City for Dortmund. Buying teams are very smart in this business and are making this type of player selection. Now he is almost too good for the club and he has to go, but many players have done this, gone abroad and settled there.
“Yes, some come back. But for me, if I had a team like Real Madrid or one of these big clubs, I wouldn't need to go back to the Premier League. Yes, there are great clubs in the Premier, but Real Madrid... is historically, you know, the one with the most Champions Leagues.”
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