Jude Bellingham's summer move to Liverpool will depend on whether or not the Reds have Champions League football next season, says Steve McManaman.
Jurgen Klopp is a known admirer of Borussia Dortmund's Bellingham and Liverpool have been repeatedly linked with a move for the 19-year-old throughout the campaign, despite the prospect of the Bundesliga side demanding a fee in excess of £100million.
Real Madrid and Manchester City have also been linked with a move for Bellingham, who has become known as one of the outstanding young players in world football since his move from Birmingham to Dortmund in July 2020.
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Former Reds star McManaman feels a move to Anfield will be dependent on them finishing this season inside the Premier League's top four but admits a bidding war with both City and Madrid will also be difficult to overcome.
“To be very honest, I think it’ll all come down to whether Liverpool qualifies for the Champions League next year," McManaman told Betfred. "Liverpool have been knocked out of the Champions League in the round of 16 by Real Madrid, so as a result of that, they’ve now lost money by not progressing further.
"Failing to reach the semi-finals or final of the Champions League could cost a club £20-£30million. If they don’t qualify for next year’s Champions League, then there’s another £50million in prize money that won’t be available to them and that’s an issue.
"If that was to happen, then the fact that they won’t be playing in the Champions League will be another big problem in regards to acquiring a player of Jude’s calibre because up until now, he’s been playing in the competition every single year for Borussia Dortmund.
“There’s no way that Jude will want to go and play in the Europa League because he will want to test himself against the best. Liverpool have to be in the Champions League if they want to acquire the calibre of players that they’re after.
“If it gets into a bidding war for Jude, then I believe that Liverpool will lose. Manchester City and Real Madrid will have more money than Liverpool, so Jude would have to really want to come to Liverpool if he’s going to knock back the other teams that want him.
"There’s so many ifs and buts, but what’s paramount is that you have to be in the Champions League to get these types of players. If Liverpool aren’t in it next season, then I don’t see Jude coming at all.”
Liverpool have also been reportedly looking at a summer move for Chelsea's Mason Mount. The Blues midfielder is entering the final 12 months of his contract at Stamford Bridge and it's been suggested the Reds could look to land a cut-price move for the England international later this year.
McManaman added: “If he’s fit and well, then he’d definitely play around 50 games a season. I believe Liverpool will lose at least three midfielders this summer.
"Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita will go and even though I hope he stays, we’re still unsure whether James Milner will be at Liverpool next season. If Mason comes to Liverpool, then I believe he will definitely be one of the front three or four.”
McManaman, who won the FA Cup and League Cup during his nine-year senior career with Liverpool, believes Klopp has enough in his forward department to cover for the departure of the outgoing Roberto Firmino.
Brazil forward Firmino will leave Anfield after eight decorated years at the end of the season but with Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo having all joined over the last year or so, McManaman thinks the Reds have ample coverage up top going forward.
“You should think [they can cope without Firmino] as they’ve got five other forwards," added the former winger. "We always knew that Sadio was going to leave and it was a big loss to the club when he left last summer.
"He was the finished article and Liverpool now have a number of forwards with huge potential, such as Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo. They’ve obviously missed the presence of Luis Díaz and Diogo Jota and even though Jota is back now, he’s still playing his way into some sort of form. Díaz should be back in a week or so, so that’s great that Liverpool are getting these players back.
“They have enough players there to accommodate the departure of Roberto Firmino. Whether the players progress enough to have the same impact that Mane and Firmino have had in Liverpool’s team over the last couple of years, is a different question.”
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