Liverpool sporting director Julian Ward made a new enquiry this week regarding the chances of us signing Jude Bellingham before the transfer window closes, but was given a firm no in response.
Only a ludicrous offer, something close to £150m, which Liverpool will simply not pay, would be considered – meaning the transfer is as impossible now as it was before this horrible start to the season.
Liverpool went back to Dortmund this week to see if their position regarding Bellingham might change this summer. Dortmund said it wouldn't.
— Jordan Chamberlain (@Jordan_AC90) August 24, 2022
Jurgen Klopp has made his thoughts on his side needing a new midfielder relatively clear.
“New midfielder? If the right player is not available in this moment we tend to deal with what we have. It would be cool to have new midfielder in, of course,” he said, quoted by Fabrizio Romano, which is much different to his usual party line that he’s happy with the players at his disposal.
Klopp was desperate for Aurelien Tchouameni and spoke to the Frenchman personally at the start of the summer, but the 22-year-old chose Real Madrid. Our interest in Mattheus Nunes was skin-deep and we had no issue with Wolves paying £35m to secure his services.
The boss wants a particular type of player: someone physical and technical, with terrific availability, who can play both the no.6 and no.8 roles, which would help us be tactically fluid. The player needs to be good enough that he is still first-team when the injured midfielders return to fitness. A young Gini Wijnaldum, essentially.
Easier said than done. The information we have heard at EOTK is that Leandro Paredes is not a genuine target. Frenkie de Jong’s wages make him unattainable, while there are doubts surrounding the suitability of Youri Tielemans… but the Reds DO like Moses Caicedo.
If we sell Naby Keita, who DOES want to leave, but whose exit is now made harder by his latest injury, Caicedo would be top of the list.
But there’s seven days to go in the window and Brighton are in a position of power, given the prodigious talent is contracted until 2025.
They’d also be loathe to lose Yves Bissouma and Caicedo in the same window.
So Liverpool are exploring options right now, including Bellingham, but nothing will be easy. They will not sign a Ben Davies and an Ozan Kabak; put it that way.
Right now, believe it or not, the smart money is on NO midfielder arriving.