It’s difficult to keep track of the number of fans Jude Bellingham is racking up amid intense ongoing interest from Europe’s top outfits.
Steven Gerrard is already a well-known admirer of the highly-rated teenager and reiterated his stance on the player to Jamie Redknapp ahead of England’s World Cup clash with Iran.
“Funny enough, it was just before the game Stevie and I were talking before the game, just as the players were coming out,” the former England international told Sky Sports.
“He’s just come up and he’s said, ‘cor, he looks a talent, doesn’t he? What a player he is’.
“I remember Stevie as a 17-year-old when he first got in the Liverpool team and you just realise you’re in the presence of greatness because they move the ball differently and I think Jude’s a little bit like that.”
It’s praise that will certainly delight the Liverpool-linked footballer given his likewise well-documented idolisation of the former Reds captain.
Whilst it’s already a foregone conclusion for some that Bellingham is destined to end up at one of our well-financed rivals, either domestically or abroad, it’s worth taking into account the potential impact of less quantifiable advantages going our way.
An admiration for Steven Gerrard and the link between Jurgen Klopp and Hans-Joachim Watzke at Dortmund, though not as weighty as the financial might of Manchester City and Real Madrid, should have some bearing on our top target’s decision-making.
That’s not to say we’re banking on both factors persuading the former Birmingham City prospect that a switch to Anfield is in his best interests.
Our performances on the pitch WILL have to improve after the World Cup with the securing of Champions League football a minimum requirement just to be in the discussion for his signature.
Nonetheless, we’ll be hoping that Alan Shearer’s prediction comes true and that it’s indeed only a matter of time before Liverpool (or Real Madrid) snap him up.
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