To hear that Liverpool are linked with Jude Bellingham shows that we are one of the biggest and most attractive clubs in world football at the moment but our current form has called into question whether we will qualify for the Champions League next season and what impact that could have on a possible transfer with Borussia Dortmund.
Speaking exclusively with Empire of the Kop, Jan Aage Fjortoft shared his thoughts on the matter: “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?
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“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”.
It’s somewhat reassuring then that it doesn’t appear too important for the Reds to finish in the top four this year but it’s also obvious that it won’t make things easier for anyone trying to convince the 19-year-old to move to Merseyside, if we’re not in the top tier of European football.
Let’s hope that ‘team Bellingham’ do see the long-term vision and that we can still lure the huge talent to Anfield this summer.
You can watch Fjortoft’s thoughts on Bellingham (from 6:07) via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: