Jude Bellingham will be the most sought after teenager in Europe this summer.
And for a long time, Liverpool have been seen as the club in pole position for his signature. But now there must be very real fears over whether they will be able to attract the player who is seen as the central part of Jurgen Klopp’s rebuilding plans at Anfield.
Even before Liverpool’s devastating defeat to Real Madrid, Klopp was readying himself for a major rebuild this summer. Having already spent big on his attacking options like Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, the midfield is his No.1 priority this summer.
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Bellingham, 19, is a wonderful player who showed on the biggest stage of all, the World Cup, exactly why every club wants him. Bellingham is Dortmund’s shining light, he dominates games in the Champions League and has a maturity on and off the pitch which is way beyond his years.
He is a generational talent who has grown and developed at Dortmund with the German club fully anticipating huge bids for him in the next window.
Liverpool need to be in the Champions League for the finances to help fund a raft of new summer signings to get the club back to the top of English football.
But they also need to be playing on Europe's biggest stage to attract the best players. If they miss out on a place in the top four - and they are currently seven points adrift - then it automatically becomes that much harder.
Manchester City and Real Madrid are also in the mix but even the top Spanish clubs struggle to compete with the Premier League's spending power.
Dortmund always demand a big price. City are also very keen but the Premier League charges hanging over them will make it tougher for them to recruit this summer. Other big clubs are circling - Chelsea included - but they do not appear to be realistic options which makes Liverpool all the more intriguing.
Liverpool boss Klopp has never hidden his admiration for Bellingham and the midfielder’s age means he would also represent a new era and a brave new world for the club.
Klopp will have to produce a vision and a hard sell. You cannot put it beyond him because his remarkable success at the club so far - a Premier League title and Champions League success - prove he is a world class manager and coach. Players want to play for him.
But for Liverpool to be able to compete for the best new signings they must realistically be a top four club as Klopp targets at least three and possibly as many as four major signings this summer. Dortmund even went public this week to insist there have been no formal offers or approaches and their sporting director Sebastian Kehl told German newspaper Bild they have not given up hope of keeping him for another year.
“Jude still has two years of contract and is a very important part of this team. That’s why I naturally wish that he would play for BVB longer,” said Kehl.
Bellingham has made incredibly smart decisions in his career so far. It seems certain that he will not be rushed into any choices just yet.
