Liverpool in pole position to sign Manchester United target Jude Bellingham
According to The Mirror (h/t Metro), Liverpool are in the pole position to sign Borussia Dortmund midfield prodigy Jude Bellingham ahead of Manchester United. He has become one of the best young midfielders in Europe due to his excellent performances at an early age.
The 18-year-old joined Dortmund from Birmingham City for a fee of over £30million in 2020. Since his move, he has featured in 68 matches and has scored seven goals with 13 assists for the German giants. He has since broken into the national team setup under Gareth Southgate and has become an important member of the Three Lions squad.
Man United were interested in the midfielder’s services before he transferred to Germany. Sir Alex Ferguson was personally involved in getting him to sign for the club. Bellingham, however, opted to go to the Bundesliga club due to their renowned goodwill of developing young players.
The Red Devils remain interested in the player and continue to be linked to him. However, the Manchester club will deal with a major headache as the Reds are leading the transfer race for the Englishman. He has a valuation of £90million, which is well over what the German club paid for back in 2020. Given his age and performances so far, the price could very well prove to be a bargain in the long run.
Get him at all costs?
It depends on what Ralf Rangnick would do moving forward with the United squad. It might be a surprise to some, but we should not sign Bellingham if he does not suit the system that Rangnick wants to use. However, looking at the 4-2-2-2 formation used against Crystal Palace, the youngster could fit us like a glove.
We could use him as a number ten or on the right side, where he could link up well with the attackers. Those who watched him over the past few years would have noticed how he excels in that role. While he usually plays as a number eight in midfield, with Bruno Fernandes on the left, he could drop a bit deeper to play in a similar role.
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The England international could also be deployed in a midfield pivot, but his best position would be higher up the field. But we may not pursue him actively due to our priority lying elsewhere. Fred, Scott McTominay and Nemanja Matic need backup in the defensive midfield role, so the club may decide to pursue a target that helps them in that case.
That is only if the German manager wants to address that issue within the team. Matic has not many years left in him, and while the teenager can play there, it is not his preferred position. At the same time, the latter could be one of the targets in the coming transfer windows if his signing is approved.
