Liverpool would have to pay £90 million transfer fee to land Borussia Dortmund star

There is a long list of elite Premier League and European clubs lining up to sign Borussia Dortmund’s star players this summer.

Goal-scoring phenomenon Erling Haaland is the target for most, but Liverpool have taken a different approach and in doing so have moved to the head of the queue to sign midfield starlet Jude Bellingham.

The teenage England international has earned rave reviews in the Bundesliga this season where he has developed a further maturity to his game and Liverpool are ready to bring him to Anfield, according to the Daily Mirror.

However, to do so, the Reds will have to pay around £90 million for the 18-year-old and break the club record transfer fee of £75 million paid for Virgil van Dijk in January 2018.

Jude Bellingham’s rise to prominence

An all-round midfielder, Bellingham’s talent was obvious from the very beginning. He became the youngest ever player to feature for Birmingham City when he made his debut at the age of 16 years and 38 days old.

Twenty-five days later, he became Blues’ youngest ever goalscorer when he netted the winner in a 1-0 victory over Stoke City in the League Championship.

A number of Premier League clubs attempted to sign the youngster shortly after, including Manchester United, but in July 2020 he made the move to Borussia Dortmund for a world record transfer fee for a 17-year-old of £20.7 million.

The athletic, box-to-box midfielder has gone from strength to strength in Germany, racking 68 appearances for Dortmund, winning the DFB-Pokal and earning 10 England caps.

In 2021, he was runner-up to Barcelona’a Pedri for the Kopa Trophy, which is awarded to the best under-21 player as voted by previous winners of the Ballon d’Or.

How likely is the deal for Jude Bellingham?

Bellingham certainly fits the FSG transfer model: he is young, talented, has huge potential for development and would have a massive sell on value if required.

Thiago, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson are arguably Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s first choice midfield trio when all are fit and available but at 30, 28 and 31 years old respectively there is certainly room for some fresh young talent.

But at an asking price of £90 million Liverpool would likely have to sell before they buy. Of the other midfield players, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones have the biggest transfer value.

If the deal for a rare talent like Bellingham is genuinely on the table, it would be remiss of Liverpool to not try and get it done.