Bellingham's not coming, so what now for Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool?
The Reds' No.1 target is off the agenda, but can they still have a successful summer transfer window?
So there it is, then. The update Liverpool fans have long dreaded.
No Jude Bellingham at Anfield. Not this summer, anyway.
Sorry.
The Reds have, reluctantly, given up on the idea of landing the Borussia Dortmund and England midfielder, having decided that the scale of the rebuild required at Anfield means spending upwards of £120 million (plus wages) on a single player is a risk they simply cannot take. They will instead target alternatives, at least two midfield players and most probably a centre-back, as they look to mend a squad, indeed a team, that has fallen into an alarming state of disrepair.
We can, and will, debate the merits of the Reds’ approach until the cows come home, but for now that’s where we’re at. At least we know, I suppose, and can stop the fretting, the second guessing and the Instagram stalking.
There will, inevitably, be a raft of criticism heading Liverpool’s way, and that is understandable. The club has, through poor decisions and a bit of bad luck, painted itself into a hell of a corner. It now faces one of the most difficult, and most important, transfer windows imaginable, trying to rescue a sinking ship without Champions League football or Champions League revenue, and with its No.1 target heading elsewhere - perhaps even, shudder, to a domestic rival.
You don’t need me to tell you what a big deal Bellingham would have been for the Reds. He would have been not just a signing, but a statement too. A ‘we’re still here, we’re still fighting’ kind of transfer, the kind which could have had an energising effect not just on supporters, but on the club as a whole.
Clearly, he is one of the best young footballers in the world, a 19-year-old with a 23-year-old’s experience and a 27-year-old’s temperament. Buying him is about as close you can get to guaranteeing your midfield will have at least one top-class player for the next decade.
The thing is, Liverpool don’t just need a new midfielder, they need an entire new midfield, and it is that fact which has ultimately led them to make such an unpopular decision.
They know that signing Bellingham would mean paying a club record fee, a British record fee. They know that it would eat up the majority, if not all, of their budget, and that their fortunes would then be tied dangerously to one player’s form and fitness, on a teenager’s ability to revitalise a team that still has good players, but which has looked increasingly shot, physically, mentally and technically, as this hellish season has progressed.
In the end, and aware that there was a) no guarantee that Dortmund would even agree to sell this summer and b) no guarantee that Bellingham would ultimately choose Liverpool over the various other suitors assembling at his door, the Reds have opted to change tack, to turn their attention elsewhere. Erring on the side of caution, you could call it, although others may opt for a more concise, or more acerbic, description.
What now, then? What does Liverpool’s world look like, post-Bellingham, and can they really hope to emerge from this saga, this embarrassment, stronger?
Probably not, if you want an honest opinion, but Jürgen Klopp has to believe so. If he doesn’t, and if his ‘Liverpool 2:0’ project hinged solely on the arrival of one player, then he might as well walk away now. He won’t, don’t worry. He’s holding a press conference at the AXA on Friday morning, and I expect him to strike an upbeat, defiant tone.
He has already talked about “positive” feelings around the club’s summer recruitment, promising the club will “definitely” spend money. He has been candid when discussing the need for new signings, admitting that significant changes are due.
That’s important. In previous years, the suggestion that Liverpool might be able to improve by buying players has been met by almost a sense of incredulity from the manager. “What do we want?” he once said when dismissing the idea of reinforcing his midfield. “This golden cow that is producing everything, milk as well?!”
He isn’t saying that now. Klopp, like the rest of us, has seen the scale of his team’s demise this season, and it clearly bothers him. He might have more faith in his players than anyone, but he’s not stupid. He knows that without quality additions, and a few of them, this team can no longer compete.
So let’s see if he gets them. He has already stated that there are enough good players out there, and Liverpool certainly have a long list of potential targets, some of which I’m sure will already be being worked on. The likes of Mason Mount, for example, is clearly on the Reds’ radar, while links to Alexis Mac Allister, Moisés Caicedo and Nicoló Barella certainly have substance. All are admired within the club, and all would, to my mind at least, be excellent additions.
Others, such as Conor Gallagher, Jesper Lindstrøm of Eintracht Frankfurt, Teun Koopmeiners of Atalanta and Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch, would represent riskier, more left-field choices, and while it is hard to get too enthused by those players, or the prospect of someone like Youri Tielemans on a free transfer, if Klopp has proven anything during his time at Liverpool, it is that he always doesn’t need obvious signings to build a winning team.
That should be remembered in the coming weeks, when one imagines there will be plenty of speculation and a fair amount of hysteria. Bellingham isn’t coming, and that’s a crying shame, but you shouldn’t pine for what was never yours. Life goes on, and so does football.
And hey, if there’s anyone who should be backed and trusted to build a great side at Anfield, then surely it’s the man who has already built one, right?
Great piece niel, I think going for Bellingham would be all our eggs in one basket ,we would inthe mire if he got a bad injury ,spreading tge cash I makes sense ,I think the signings are very critical to keep fans on the side of fsg
A bitter pill to swallow Reds!