Threads are opened on players when there are reliable links between us and them. We were reliably linked to Bellingham (anyone seriously think we were never in for him?!)
If we waited until they were actually coming before opening a thread what would be the fucking point?
So, he’s not coming then? 
Of course he is…
Nah, Jude takes the biscuit. The David Villa saga was put out after about a month and that was all post World Cup whispers anyway because he bigged up Nando, there was certainly never a “putting all our plans on hold for David Villa”
& it’s not my embarrassment, rather the clubs. Why would I be embarrassed over something I knew all along? In fact we all knew it, some just chose to play devil’s advocate.
You’re arguing semantics. They’ve rebuilt their midfield. There’s probably not a club in the world that wouldn’t take any of Valverde, Camavinga, Tchouameni or Bellingham if they could. They haven’t become fully established because they’re trying to dislodge Kroos and Modric, not Henderson and Fabinho.
If you want to wait to another five years to see if it’s all a success then fine but you absolutely can praise the work they’ve done to build a group of the most talented young players to support the aging stars they’re starting to phase out. We’d be singing from the rooftops if it were us and rightly so.
Thing with Real is they’re just as likely to lose patience with the players and sell/loan them out before they get the chance to become first team regulars, and instead chase the newest shiny object instead. Ozil, James, Sahin, Odegaard… I’m sure there are others.
In Bellingham’s case I think the reality is he’s too good not to make it there, like a generational talent. But not sure sure on the others…
Rather see him at RM than at City.
There are loads in their history. Robben, Snijder, Kovacic etc. But if they do, they’ll get a good wedge for them but they aren’t the same magpie types as they’ve previously been. Perhaps it’s because of all the European Cups they don’t feel the need to be splashy in the market and instead focus on picking up young talent on an upward trajectory that they actually intend to integrate properly.
Sahin was either in the last year of his deal or there was a clause (an incredibly low one, was regarded as a steal back then, he won Bundesliga player of the year), Odegaard was basically the equivalent if Bellingham was coming from Birmingham without all the steps he made in between, etc.
Real are the biggest or certainly one of the biggest clubs in the world and they usually do these things.
Football food chain, how the Earth moves, etc. Nothing to be surprised about.
Whether Bellingham fully makes it there, relatively, or flops… nobody knows of course.
And yeah, it’s certainly not the first time and not the last time they do something like this. Next could be Mbappe or who knows.
You mean like a “Welcome to Liverpool - Cody Gakpo” thread?
Course there’s a point, the excitement only starts when the player is pictured leaning on the Anfield Wall.
They were after him before our interest was reported and they were always favourite to land him. We thought we might have a chance to get him when Madrid’s focus was heavily on Mbappe. .
https://twitter.com/Plettigoal/status/1653769583315107842?s=20
£120mil and £400k a week + agent fees. Ugarte be kidding me…
Eye Watering.
So if he stays there 5 years the deal is 240m + agent fees which you would imagine are at least 20m themselves.
I don’t care if people want to rage against the owners, do what makes you happy, but I just don’t see how a club of our size could be sustainable while bringing in players on these kinds of deals.
They not going to pay 120m.
No
The rumour is as dry as the juice sprayed around here for a while a few months back.
All the Hey Jude boys saying they don’t want him now…
Next new shiny thing please
Edit: For the sake of honesty.
I would have loved him at Liverpool
We have player welcome threads obviously and they serve a different purpose.
Suggesting we only open player-specific thread in the rumours section for outgoing transfers is, frankly, dumb.
If he is going to Real Madrid that is much better than Man City.
As for praising Real Madrid’s succession planning, I am unable to do that.
The most I can say is that for a team starting as the best in the world, and with the biggest income, and probably the largest global fanbase, and the strongest pull for any player to go there if they throw their hat in the ring…
With all those advantages they have managed to lower the age of their midfield and replace three old timers with three young players. Good players no doubt, but let’s see what they do.
But as for praising Real Madrid? Nope. Can’t do it.
Poor things. Provincial club punching above their weight. 
Its not semantics at all. Real have spent years acknowledging the problems of relying on this group of players of this age and have still not transitioned. Important to note is these are not hypothetical risks of challenges that will occur down the read, but actual present time issues that have impacted their ability to mount better league title challenges in recent seasons. You can argue their CL success has validated their decisions to not me more aggressive in transitioning, but the transition itself is still far more hypothetical than realized.
I think it’s completely reasonable to be both envious of having players like Camavinga and Tchouameni looking to really establish themselves next year while still not being willing to praise the transition until the transition has actually occurred.
It seems that it is not a negotiation tactic from LFC to get Bellingham. It is just that LFC cannot afford him.