Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham is reportedly keen on joining Liverpool over Chelsea, as per the transfer journalist Christian Falk.
It has widely been suggested that the Reds are planning for a midfield overhaul at the end of this season and the 19-year-old is reportedly their primary target to strengthen the engine room.
It’s been suggested that along with Jurgen Klopp’s side, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea are also eyeing a swoop for Bellingham next summer.
However, writing on Caught Offside, Falk has claimed that the England international wants to play in the Premier League and Anfield is his preferred destination.
The journalist further states that although Chelsea are showing an interest in signing the midfielder, Bellingham hasn’t been impressed by Graham Potter’s side’s recent transfer dealings as he feels that the west London club don’t have any clear plan to achieve success going forward.
Therefore, Falk says that the youngster only wants to join Liverpool and he may even be prepared to wait before moving to Anfield if they fail to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Bellingham wants Liverpool
Falk said:
“The Premier League remains the first target for Jude Bellingham. I’ve always said Liverpool would be his preferred target but, of course, everyone knows that they’re not doing too well at the moment. If Liverpool aren’t playing in Europe, there could be a chance that Bellingham waits for Liverpool.
“He seems very clear in his plans. I heard that, before Enzo Fernandez’s move to London, Bellingham was looking at what was going on at Chelsea. Chelsea were interested but Bellingham saw there wasn’t a clear plan at the club, so there wasn’t a massive amount of interest in going there.
“If he’s going to leave Dortmund, it will be for a top club, so he’s still keeping an eye on circumstances at Liverpool.”
Bellingham still has two and a half years left in his current contract so Dortmund are in a strong position to ask a big fee for him next summer. And it has previously been reported that the German giants wants a fee of around £130m to sell their biggest asset.
Falk indicates that Bellingham wants to play in the Champions League and he is unlikely to join Liverpool next summer if they fail to qualify for this tournament. But, it is going to be tough for Klopp’s side to achieve that goal as they are currently languishing down in 10th place in the table with 29 points from 20 games, 11 points behind the fourth-placed Newcastle United.
Therefore, it remains to be seen whether Liverpool will be able to persuade the midfielder to join the club if they fail to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition next season. And it is also going to be interesting to see whether the Merseyside club will agree to pay the whopping £130m fee to purchase the highly talented midfielder.
