Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp once promised that the day that he signed a £100million player would be the day that he no longer had a job.
But that is exactly what the Reds will have to do if they are to purchase Jude Bellingham, who is a top target at the club. Borussia Dortmund have no intention of selling the England international this summer but could be prepared to listen to offers next year.
There is plenty of interest in the 19-year-old, including from Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid. But Liverpool are believed to be ahead in the queue as they look to spruce up their midfield options.
Georginio Wijnaldum has yet to be truly replaced while Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara are both in their 30s and the need for successors will become more crucial in the near future. Bellingham has been identified as one of the best young central midfielders in the world.
But Dortmund are not in the business of selling their top players all at once and the departure of Erling Haaland has effectively seen the shop shut down early this summer. There is an expectation that they are willing to lose at most one expensive commodity a year, with Jadon Sancho being offloaded in 2021.
Bellingham is expected to fill that role in the summer of 2023 while The Athletic report that Dortmund have already priced the midfielder at £103m. Reporter James Pearce said: "Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United are also in the race, with reports in Germany this week suggesting it would take €120 million (£103 million) to sign him."
However, such a figure would be a club-record at Liverpool - which was already broken this summer after the arrival of Darwin Nunez for around £85m. However, that price has not put the Reds off as they believe that Bellingham could be the heartbeat of this Liverpool team for over a decade.
What it would mean for Klopp, though, remains to be seen after he made his feelings very clear on such sizeable fees back in 2017 when he insisted he would not spend that mucho none player even if he had the money. "If you bring one player in for £100m and he gets injured, then it all goes through the chimney," he said.
"The day that this is football, I'm not in a job anymore, because the game is about playing together. That is how everybody in football understands it. You always want to have the best, but building the group is necessary to be successful.
"Other clubs can go out and spend more money and collect top players. I want to do it differently. I would even do it differently if I could spend that money. If I spend money, it is because I am trying to build a team, a real team. Barcelona did it. You can win championships, you can win titles, but there is a manner in which you want it."
Many cited these quotes after Nunez was signed for a mammoth fee but Bellingham would cost a significant chunk more while the likes of Alisson and Virgil van Dijk broke records for the most expensive goalkeeper and most expensive centre-back at the time of their arrivals.
The footballing world is drastically changing every year when it comes to economics with the transfer, wages, TV deals, agent fees all seemingly growing by the day. Five years ago, it might have been hard to contemplate £85m strikers and £100m-plus midfielders on a regular basis but the market is teetering in such a way.
Whether Klopp revisits his old claims on such fees remains to be seen but Liverpool look like they have already made up their mind on what side of the argument they are prepared to sit on.
