In the midst of Liverpool rumors, Dortmund’s plans for Jude Bellingham have been revealed
Despite rising interest in the 19-year-old, Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl has not ruled out the possibility of highly-coveted midfielder Jude Bellingham staying at the club beyond the summer of 2023.
Bellingham, who joined the German club in 2020 from his boyhood club Birmingham City, has had a meteoric rise over the last two seasons, peaking last year when he became the youngest-ever player to play in a European Championship match.
His meteoric rise in Germany has fueled persistent rumors of a move to Liverpool or current Champions League holders Real Madrid. Dortmund, however, have ruled out losing their latest star this summer after losing Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland to Manchester United and Manchester City in consecutive summers.
Many outsiders have drawn connections and speculated that Jurgen Klopp’s team may make a move for Bellingham next year as a result of the Bundesliga club’s firm stance this summer and the Reds’ need to upgrade their constantly aging midfield the following summer.
Dortmund’s sporting director Kehl, who played 274 times for Die Schwarzgelben, provided an update on the midfielder’s situation, indicating that the club is not certain Bellingham will leave in the near future.
I’m sure there’s a lot of interest, said the former midfielder. “Jude is a well-known player outside of Germany.”
Liverpool scored a coup when they signed a player who was “part Iniesta, part Kante.”
Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp had a busy summer in 2017. Expectations for an exciting season were high following the club’s re-qualification for the Champions League.
Despite finishing fourth the previous season, Klopp was aware that he needed to invest in the team. As a result, one of Liverpool’s most memorable transfer sagas in recent memory began.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain arrived in the final hours of the transfer window, joining Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, and Dominic Solanke. On this day in 2017, however, another agreement was reached.
On this day, Liverpool agreed to sign Naby Keita from RB Leipzig. The Reds agreed to pay a premium over the player’s release clause of £48 million, which became effective in 2018 and eventually reached £52.75 million.
The transaction surprised many people, but not because of who was involved. Keita had been linked with Liverpool all summer and was one of Klopp’s top targets at the time.
In the final months of the 2016/17 season, rumors of Liverpool’s interest in Keita began to circulate. Klopp explained at the end of that season how he and then-sporting director Michael Edwards had already planned for the summer transfer window.
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