Speculation surrounding Jude Bellingham's potential summer switch to Liverpool has only increased following the Borussia Dortmund star's interaction with Harvey Elliot's Instagram post.
Elliot notched his first Champions League goal for the Reds on Wednesday night during their 7-1 mauling of Rangers at the Ibrox. After the game, the youngster took to social media to post a picture of him celebrating the victory and the snap got plenty of attention from fans and fellow professionals - Bellingham being one of them.
The teenage England international replied with just a simple applause emoji, but that alone will be enough to have some sections of the Liverpool faithful dreaming of Bellingham donning the famous red shirt next season.
Jurgen Klopp's side are well-known admirers of the former Birmingham midfielder. However, given the 19-year-old's extraordinary technical prowess, Liverpool are not the only club in the race to land his signature.
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester United are just three of the other European giants in the race for Bellingham's services.
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The Reds' poor start to the season could be a factor in Bellingham's decision-making process when the time comes to up sticks from Dortmund and seek a new challenge. Liverpool look way off the pace in the Premier League this season, despite their most recent performance being so impressive in the Champions League.
So far, Klopp's men have won just two of their opening eight games, drawing four and losing the other two. Their most recent league outing saw them fall to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of league leaders Arsenal at the Emirates.
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Liverpool's form will surely work against them when the time comes to try and negotiate with Bellingham, that is at least according to Gunners legend Ian Wright who said as much on The Kelly & Wrighty Show.
Wright asked: "The problem for Liverpool is that Jude Bellingham has the pick of the greatest [teams in the world] at the moment, how do you sell Liverpool to him?"
"How are you going to be able to entice him against Manchester City and Real Madrid who can both say “look at who we’ve got”. They both could dominate for the next 10 years.
"Liverpool are now in a very precarious position, which is why I want Liverpool to just focus on getting the top four because that still gives them Champions League football and the attraction of bringing the top players in."
From breathing down the necks of Manchester City over the last five years to fighting for top four and Champions League qualification would mark a steep drop in standards from Liverpool's perspective, but it may be essential in their efforts to pull off what would surely be the signing of next summer.
Bellingham's contract with Dortmund does not expire until the summer of 2025, meaning any bid from the Reds next summer would have to be quite the figure to try and entice the Bundesliga outfit into selling.
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