Reds now favorite ‘-Pundit drops major Bellingham update, it’s great news for Liverpool

‘Reds now favorite ‘-Pundit drops major Bellingham update, it’s great news for Liverpool

The race for Jude Bellingham’s signature intensifies, former Norwegian striker Jan Aage Fjortoft has a major update for Liverpool fans.

Jurgen Klopp is believed to be focusing on Bellingham in January after publicly praising the England international.

Following remarks made by Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti that may have excluded Los Blancos from the competition, the Reds now appear to be the favourites to sign the 19-year-old.

The Italian said, via GOAL: “Bellingham has shown at the World Cup that he is a great midfielder, but so have others. Enzo Fernandez has played very well. Gavi and Pedri as well.

“Bellingham is one of those very good midfielders, but I’ll stick with the ones we have.”

Many fans may have thought the Reds’ severe drop in form this season will have damaged their chances of signing Bellingham. However, Fjortoft seems to think otherwise.

Given that most top players aspire to play in Europe’s elite competition, Liverpool’s recent results make the Reds increasingly likely to miss out on a Champions League spot, which might have a significant impact on their transfer plans.

Liverpool is keen on signing Jude Bellingham (Getty Images)

But Fjortoft doesn’t think this will bother Bellingham. Speaking to Empire of the Kop, he said: “No, I don’t think you need to be in the Champions League… we can only judge [Bellingham] by what he has done earlier in his career and there was contact with many clubs before he chose Dortmund, which was his project to develop into the player he is…

Based on what I know about ‘team Bellingham’, this will be a five/six-year plan – where will he develop next?

“There are years when you don’t get into the Champions League… I have a feeling that the people around him will say it [not qualifying for the Champions League] won’t count [in transfer negotiations] but of course, if you’re an ambitious young player – you want to be in the Champions League”.

In contrast, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher voiced his concerns on the matter, believing Liverpool’s failure to qualify for the tournament would be a “problem.”

Talking to Sky Sports earlier this month, he said: “People keep talking about Jude Bellingham, and rightly so, he’s going to be one of the best young players in world football, but if Liverpool don’t get top four that’ll be a problem.”

In other news, Liverpool transfer: Liverpool contact £70m midfield target as 2 Liverpool stars set to leave Anfield