Multiple sources tell news outlets that Liverpool is the front-runner in the race to recruit Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham, despite interest from Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Real Madrid. For amazing sports betting opportunities check out our website!
According to a source from a competing bidder club, Liverpool is developing a close relationship with the player’s camp, which may play a big role. Although both the player and his father, Mark, have already publicly denied the idea that a decision on his next club has been made, another source claimed that the general framework of a deal to take Bellingham to Anfield may perhaps be advancing.
The most obvious ray of light for Liverpool’s competitors lies in Dortmund’s valuation since the Bundesliga club is expected to permit Bellingham to leave either in January or, more likely, next summer.
Dortmund was thought to accept a sum of around €100 million, but rumors this week claimed that amount could increase to €150 million. The interested teams still hold out hope that the ultimate price will be closer to the lower range, but the presence of multiple heavyweights might spark a bidding war, and Bellingham’s stock may rise given that he is likely to play a significant role in England’s World Cup squad in Qatar.
In order to revitalize their midfield, Liverpool decided to wait for Bellingham rather than making a high-profile acquisition in the summer and instead signed Arthur Melo on loan from Juventus. The Reds are prepared to spend a fortune to get him, but their resources would be severely strained if they missed out on the Champions League next season.
With N’Golo Kante and Jorginho entering the final year of their contracts, Chelsea’s new owners, led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, are aiming to construct a younger team of next-generation talent and see Bellingham as the perfect candidate to enhance their midfield.
In 2020, United sought to recruit Bellingham, but he opted to join Dortmund rather than Birmingham City. With nine goals and two assists in 19 games this season, Bellingham has flourished in Germany and elevated his game. When he led Dortmund at Cologne in September, he made history by becoming the league’s youngest-ever captain.
The competition for Bellingham’s signature will heat up, and deals of this size frequently take unexpected turns, but there is a belief that Liverpool’s opponents still have ground to make up. Some of the best casinos we offer are 18Bet and Sportaza!
Bellingham of Dortmund is reportedly one of Real Madrid’s top targets for the upcoming summer, according to sources. Although Los Blancos are aware that Premier League clubs are vying for his signature, they view the signing of the 19-year-old as a top priority as they attempt to continue rejuvenating a midfield that is still captained by the 37-year-old Luka Modric.
In previous transfer windows, Madrid strengthened their midfield by bringing in Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni. Bellingham is currently viewed by the Spanish club as the perfect signing to complete a line where Federico Valverde has emerged as crucial on the right flank.
Although Madrid is aware that Liverpool is also interested in signing the England international, they feel they are in a strong position to sign him due to the strong relationship club president Florentino Perez has with CEO Joachim Watzke of Borussia.
Despite being extremely content with Modric and Toni Kroos, the LaLiga heavyweights are already considering the future. While Kroos has declared his desire to finish his career at the Bernabeu and has not yet set a date for retirement, Madrid intends to extend Modric’s contract by one year before he becomes a free agent next summer.
Media are arguing that it is “still very early days” to predict Bellingham’s choice, but the initial indications are promising.
However, Barcelona will return to the transfer market in January in part due to concerns that they would need to operate under more stringent financial constraints once more next summer. In order to exceed their LaLiga-imposed spending cap of over €600m, which includes their outlay on wages each season, Barca sold club assets worth over €700m in the summer. This allowed them to finance a buying spree of over €150m.
However, LaLiga president Javier Tebas has already warned them their spending cap is likely to be cut next summer if more assets that are on the books for the 2023–24 seasons are not sold. As a result, they will try to do business in the January window while their ratio is still at 1:1 given the likelihood that they will only be able to spend at a ratio of 1:4 again next season, which permits them to spend €1 for every €4 saved in wages or made in transfer fees.
At the moment, Barca’s top priorities are a right-back and a deep-lying midfielder to eventually replace Sergio Busquets, who is set to depart the team when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Additionally, sources have told various other outlets that Shakhtar Donetsk intends to visit the United States for the first time as a significant Ukrainian sports club in an effort to raise money for those affected by the Russian invasion of the nation and raise awareness of the current crisis.
According to sources, Shakhtar is planning up to four friendlies during their midseason break in January and has already spoken with D.C. United, Inter Miami, and FC Dallas about participating.
Since hostilities broke out in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and the area turned into a battleground between Ukrainians and separatists with Russian support, Shakhtar has been unable to play in Donetsk. The Ukrainian Premier League resumed play in August despite Russia’s full-scale invasion of the nation in February, forcing all teams to play home matches in closed venues in western towns like Kyiv and Lviv.
Shakhtar’s most recent league match, against FC Oleksandriya in Lviv last Saturday, was postponed for an hour and 40 minutes owing to an air-raid alert, and the team is now required to drive to every game because commercial aircraft are no longer allowed due to the closure of the airspace.
