Jurgen Klopp can’t hide his admiration for Jude Bellingham. The Liverpool manager also believes that the possibility of missing out on the Champions League shouldn’t affect the Reds’ transfer chances.
90min recently reported that Jude Bellingham will decide his future in early 2023. Real Madrid, Manchester City and Liverpool believe they have a good chance of signing the rising star.
Klopp was questioned about the club’s efforts to sign Bellingham ahead of Boxing Day, when the Reds are due to play at Aston Villa. However, when asked about the high price one would have to pay for the services of the Dortmund star, he immediately reacted dismissively.
“I don’t like talking about money when it comes to a player like him. Everyone can see he’s just exceptional,” said Klopp.
“If you say to someone who doesn’t know anything about football, ‘How old do you think Jude Bellingham is?’ I don’t think anyone would even come close to saying his age. They would say 28 or 29 because he plays so maturely . He played an extraordinary World Cup. Absolutely extraordinary”, Kloppo praised the youngster. “With all that he can do and that he can still improve on, I would say that the things that he can do are difficult to learn and the things that he can improve are easy to learn. He’s a really good player.”
“What can I say? I’ve been thinking that for two or three years since he broke through at Dortmund,” continued the 55-year-old. “Everyone already knew, but I have no idea what that means on the financial side. I think if we’re all going to do him a favour, then we shouldn’t talk too much about money.”
With Liverpool struggling for the top four spots in the race – they currently lie seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham – Klopp also pointed out that making it into the Champions League shouldn’t be the priority for a player if he decides to join a new club.
“It [the Champions League participation] is very important for the club and that’s our main goal now. It’s important and in general we always have a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League. It will be this year be the case? I don’t know. But we’re 100% one of the contenders again for the next few years,” he added.
“If you ask a player and he says, ‘You’re not in the Champions League next year and I’d rather go to a club that plays there this year’, I’m not sure I still want that player , to be honest. I understand that 100% – I want to play in the Champions League all the time. Right now we still have two chances to qualify for the Champions League next year. As long as that’s the case, see I see us as real contenders for Champions League qualification.”
This article was originally published on 90min.com as Jurgen Klopp discusses Liverpool’s courtship of Jude Bellingham.
