Ex-Red: Liverpool can’t make five-year transfer mistake; must sign £49k-p/w star now

BIRKENHEAD, ENGLAND - JULY 11: Bobby Duncan of Liverpool during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Tranmere Rovers and Liverpool at Prenton Park on July 11, 2019 in Birkenhead, England. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Former Liverpool youngster Bobby Duncan has called for his old club to sign Jude Bellingham this summer.

The former Fiorentina prodigy tweeted his advice to the Reds, urging them to spend big on a star midfielder for the long-term rather than across a five-year period on multiple options (as relayed by HITC).

The 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund star (on a reported £49,000-per-week, according to Salary Sport) is thought to now be worth in the region of £130m this summer, though it’s unclear whether positive performances in Qatar and beyond the World Cup will boost that figure further.

READ MORE: Transfer journo confirms Liverpool player’s future no longer just in the club’s hands – report

READ MORE: Out-of-favour Real Madrid midfielder may change Klopp opinion as contract winds down – opinion

Whilst Duncan certainly has a point given that we now find ourselves facing the next campaign with a genuine shortage of quality midfielders, it’s perhaps an injustice to overlook how solid our transfer business has generally been in the middle of the park.

Barring the exceptions of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita – both of whom have struggled heavily with injury – the likes of Gini Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara and, now, Stefan Bajcetic have all proved relative successes.

That being said, given that our Spanish playmaker is the only senior option we’ve signed over the course of the last four and a half years, there’s a very clear need to invest in the department come the end of the campaign.

Signing Bellingham, if possible, would make a great deal of sense not just simply in regard to his generational quality but also in terms of his potential longevity in the sport.

Ep73 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Author chat with Chris Roberts on Football, Mental Health… and more!