While Liverpool’s failure to sign long-term midfield target Jude Bellingham was widely criticised, what has happened since has shown it was the right decision.
By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com
In another timeline, there would have been a collective sigh on Merseyside when Jude Bellingham’s second goal of the afternoon rippled the net to earn Real Madrid a late 2-1 victory in El Clásico.
After all, the midfielder had been the club’s priority target ahead of a necessary rebuild of Jürgen Klopp’s engine room, following a campaign in which its tired legs were repeatedly exposed as Liverpool finished outside of the top four.
In 13 games for Real, Bellingham has now scored 13 goals and laid on three assists. Across Europe’s top five leagues – the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and the Eredivisie – only four players have contributed more goals in all competitions.
The Englishman, who only turned 20 at the end of June, has also netted once and assisted three times in three appearances for his country this season, bringing his tally to 14 goals and six assists in 16 games for Real and England.
While Lionel Messi collected the Ballon d’Or for the eighth time in his career at the end of October, there is a strong argument to make that it is Bellingham who currently stands as the most in-form player on the planet. He instead followed Kylian Mbappé, Matthijs de Ligt, Pedri and Gavi in winning the Kopa Trophy, for the best player under the age of 21 throughout 2023.
All involved at Anfield appeared convinced that Bellingham was the missing piece, a transformational player that would bring new life to Klopp’s side, with it widely painted as ‘Jude or nothing’ in the evolution of Liverpool 2.0.
But when the numbers stopped making sense, Liverpool pulled the plug. There would be no ongoing pursuit of Bellingham and Real were almost given a free run at the player, adding him to an envious midfield group also including another former Reds target, Aurélien Tchouaméni.
The fee paid to Borussia Dortmund was not outlandish at an initial £88.5 million rising to £115 million, but it would have represented Liverpool’s most expensive signing in history.
As showed by their £111 million bid for Moises Caicedo later in the window, the club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, are not averse to breaking their spending records for the right player – but Bellingham’s cost, and for that matter that of Caicedo, would have been much more than the transfer fee.
It has been suggested that the former Birmingham City midfielder will earn around £500,000 a week in his first season at the Bernabeu, factoring in various bonuses, which would comfortably exceed the record salary in Klopp’s squad, with Mohamed Salah’s contract including a £350,000 weekly wage.
While Real may be built to take risks and absorb such outlays, the knock-on effect for Liverpool in signing a 20-year-old to those figures would have been unsustainable.
The decision was instead taken to spread the funds across multiple midfielders. Alexis Mac Allister (£35m), Dominik Szoboszlai (£60m), Wataru Endo (£16m) and Ryan Gravenberch (£38.5m) were brought in for a combined £149.5 million. That is only £34.5 million less than Real have committed to paying for Bellingham, before considering the ridiculous fees received from Saudi clubs for Fabinho (£40m) and Jordan Henderson (£12m).
Unexpectedly losing Fabinho and Henderson forced the club’s hand when it came to a £16 million deal with Stuttgart for Endo – a specialist No. 6 who, at 30, did not fit the profile of a typical FSG signing – but in pulling a U-turn on Bellingham, the plan was always to instead secure multiple midfielders who can fill various roles in the squad.
In Mac Allister, 24, Szoboszlai, 23, and Gravenberch, 21, they have just that, with the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, played at the same time as El Clásico, seeing the trio start together in a second successive Premier League game, in a glimpse of the future of Klopp’s midfield.
So far, Mac Allister has operated as No. 6, Gravenberch the left-sided No. 8 and Szoboszlai predominantly on the right of the three, but as with another rising star in Curtis Jones, 22, they are equally capable of slotting in elsewhere. In Gravenberch and, in particular, Szoboszlai, Liverpool look to have acquired two players very much in the all-action Bellingham mould for less than it would have taken to sign him on his own.
The Hungarian was, for all intents and purposes, the Bellingham alternative, and his immediate impact on the Reds’ fortunes has erased any concerns over failing to bring in a player whose No. 22 shirt was retired upon his departed from Birmingham. No outfielder has clocked more minutes on the pitch for Liverpool this season than Szoboszlai (965), while no player has created more chances for Klopp’s side in the Premier League (25).
Wearing the No. 8 on his back, Szoboszlai is everywhere. It is the role Bellingham would almost certainly have been earmarked for if he had made the move to Merseyside – though it should be noted that it is not the one that has seen him score and assist freely at Real, where he is typically used as an attacking No. 10 or even up front.
Given Liverpool’s history of injuries – and, this season, a propensity for red cards, questionable or otherwise – the decision to pivot from one blockbuster signing to four is undoubtedly a wise one. To do so for a similar outlay, for the quality and elite potential they have managed to sign, is all the more remarkable.
Unlike Caicedo, Roméo Lavia and Mason Mount, who were leading targets for Liverpool only to move elsewhere and, so far, struggle, the failure to sign Bellingham cannot be seen as an unlikely stroke of fortune. There is no way to look at missing out on a best-in-the-world candidate as a disappointment.
But the events that unfolded after the decision to pull out of any pursuit have turned Liverpool’s overriding flaw into their biggest strength, while future-proofing a squad that could tempt Klopp to stay beyond the expiry of his contract in 2026.
(Images from IMAGO)
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