Although nothing is signed and sealed at present, it appears that for all intents and purposes, Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham will be signing for Real Madrid rather than Liverpool.
Indeed, Christian Falk, writing in his exclusive CaughtOffside Substack, noted that even though it was the player’s career plan to spend a few seasons at Anfield, Liverpool just couldn’t afford the package that the 19-year-old and his advisors required.
That means that Jurgen Klopp has had to turn his attentions elsewhere and, fortunately for the German, he has plenty of time to decide which player he would like to fulfil the role he had set aside for Bellingham.
Had the saga persisted throughout the summer without agreement, that would’ve upset the equilibrium of a team that need total togetherness next season if they want to get back to where they were a season or two ago.
According to AS, the Reds are looking at offering Premier League rivals, Newcastle United, a fee in the region of €100m/£86.5m for their star man, Bruno Guimaraes.
The outlet reports that the north west giants are likely to face competition from Barcelona – who now need a replacement for Sergio Busquets – and Paris Saint-Germain, who just need players to get them over the line in the Champions League.
It’s also the premier European competition that’s also likely to see Liverpool lose out on landing Guimaraes too, given that the Magpies are almost certain of a place in next season’s competition, whilst Liverpool have no guarantees at this point.