Bellingham will have two years left this summer, and this is, as you’ve pointed out, the point at which Dortmund tend to move.
Dortmund are tough negotiators, but they are fundamentally a selling club. They will hold onto players, especially if they have let another big name go (like they did with Haaland) but at some point they will sell. They have to.
I’m sure they would love to tie Bellingham down to a new deal, as it preserves his value and keeps him at the club for a few more years before he leaves, still a young player. But Bellingham would be stupid to get himself tied down to a new long term deal that does give him a realistic way out to a club of his choice.
I’m sanguine about this, and I think Klopp would be too. If Bellingham turns us down because he could earn 100k more at Madrid, then he was never the right player for us. Klopp has a track record of swerving lads when he feels they are motivated by cash too much.
As it is, his family are huge Liverpool fans. He is a liverpool fan. He idolises Gerrard. His best mate in football is Trent and he has developed a mentor relationship with Jordan Henderson. We have Klopp, who is coach players dream of playing for. There are lots of reasons to think we’re in the box seat.
I think we would have no hestitation paying the 100m it will cost to get him, and we’d have no trouble giving him £200k a week.
If he doesn’t want to come because another club of offering him 100k more, and this is worth more to him that all the factors listed above, then no worries.
Underappreciated in the dynamic this summer was them knowing they were already committed to losing Witsel on a free (ultimately signed for Atletico). He was one of their senior players and Jude’s most common CM partner. The prospect of losing the two of them at the same time was by itself too much to consider regardless of the money being offered, likely even without the Halaand factor. After a year more to bed in some of the other kids and target new players its going to be a lot easier for them to face up to him moving on.
What, the full whack without a second thought. Where they coming up with £90m with no one really to sell? 3x our typical summer net spend on one player and a contract to match that fee and they wouldn’t blink?
All this reminds me of the Mbappe chat from about two years ago. The same rationale of him loving Liverpool, money not being the main driver, Klopp being a big draw. That’s all well and good but money will be a big factor. And it’s not like City don’t have their appeal beyond money.
We’ll see but I have my doubts we’ll be in the conversation with the fee and wages it’ll take.