Liverpool pull out of race to sign Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham this summer

Liverpool have pulled out of the race to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham this summer.

The England international had been the club’s top transfer target as manager Jurgen Klopp prepares to overhaul his squad after a disappointing season.

However, given the scale of the rebuild required, Liverpool have now decided to channel their resources elsewhere.

The cost of the deal was deemed prohibitive with Dortmund demanding a transfer fee of around £130million with wages and agents fees on top.

That would have taken up a considerable chunk of Klopp’s transfer kitty in a summer when Liverpool, who look set to miss out on the financial windfall of qualifying for the Champions League, need to effectively sign an entire new midfield and strengthen their backline.

Senior Anfield sources have indicated that following lengthy discussions, the deal “stopped making sense” and they felt they couldn’t afford to put all their eggs in one basket, especially with no guarantees that Bellingham will even leave Dortmund this summer or pick Anfield as his destination of choice.

The Athletic revealed last month that Liverpool signing Bellingham was looking increasingly unlikely, with them reluctant to get involved in a bidding war. Real Madrid and Manchester City have also been heavily linked with buying him.

Speaking about Bellingham in December, Klopp said: “I don’t like to talk about money when you talk about a player like him.

“Everyone can see he is just exceptional. If you mention to someone who has no clue about football or who knows about football and has not watched it for a while ‘how old do you think Jude Bellingham is?’ I don’t think anyone would get even close to his age. They would say 28 or 29 because he plays so mature. He played an exceptional World Cup. Absolutely exceptional.”

Liverpool will now focus their attention on other targets including Chelsea’s Mason Mount, who is set to leave Stamford Bridge this summer. Brighton duo Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister, along with Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch, are also admired by the club’s recruitment staff.

(Photo: Getty Images)