He would improve our outlook
Yeah we got to capture that window of opportunity to get him.
You make a power(ful) point there.
Yeah hopefully FSG will pay the Bill necessary to get him through the paisley Gates
I’m not getting the hype for this lad.
Lots of people think he’d be mega for us, I’m thinking he’ll probably crash
O dear this has thread gone well over the Edge.
Think he would crash at United/Chelsea (like Sancho for example) and at Real too (another new country for a young kid. Many players struggled there).
He’d be great under Klopp and Pep.
Nah he’s the real deal. Has that drive and leadership about him that Gerrard did at a young age.
(though if he doesn’t sign for us I agree that he’s shite)
Ah bollocks, didn’t read back on the thread so missed the pun-fest
He must’ve left it at home against the US of A then
Yeah if a 19yo isn’t perfect every game he must be overrated
Provided we manage to fight off the competition and sign him in time for our Europa League 2023 charge, I’d be worried about the price tag and his fitness record because we’re talking about 100 million pounds ballpark here and a lad who’s been playing regularly since he was 17. Now he’s quite frankly irreplaceable in his national team at the age of 19. That’s a whole lot of weight of expectations on his shoulders and whole lot of pressure on his body.
After seeing this evidence, there can be no more questions. It’s a done deal
[quote=“Lynch04, post:546, topic:2246”]
For a club - known to be a selling club - to spend £25m upfront on a 17yr old, is a very brave move.[/quote]
It sounds a lot, but it’s all about perception.
At 17, Jude Bellingham was always nailed on to be a quality player. Whether he’d become absolutely world class was a bit more of a question, but Dortmund were always at least doubling their money.
But forget his age for a second. Dortmund effectively paid £25m for a starting midfielder that they knew they would move on in a few years for a profit. We would have paid £25m for a youth/development player and occasional starter.
Jude Bellingham at 17 doesn’t get into our team off the bat. He is getting starts in the cups, possible 10mins here and there. Maybe straight out on loan. We’ve seen what a development pathway looks like at LFC, and it looks like Harvey Elliott. A few cameos to whet the appetite, solid championship loan and then into squad rotation before winning his spot.
Dortmund aren’t dealing with league pressure in the same way we are. We can’t relax into a develop and sell methodology in the same way Dortmund can. They aren’t winning their league. Every game for us is a cup final. We can have youngsters making mistakes as they learn.
Those numbers don’t work for us in the same way they do for Dortmund. And the pathway probably doesn’t work for Jude anyway.
Even Elliott perhaps isn’t a typical example. Had Hendo, Thiago and Keita been available more often, perhaps he wouldn’t have got as many minutes as often as he has. Not that he hasn’t delivered most of the time he’s been called upon.
Wouldn’t be the first time a player went to Real not being a guaranteed starter.
Modric is still great (though not having the best games lately both for Real and Croatia, must be said), but it’s really now the last years.
Camavinga, Tchouameni, Rudiger, they all went there and some are playing and some are not.
It’s Real at the end of the day, I don’t think Jude will be put off by how much could he play right now. Camavinga’s game time might come into question more.
It’s more of a question for Real how they want to spend their money, because Valverde might be a candidate for the same position/role as Bellingham long term. But you could also potentially have Bellingham replacing Kroos at LCM and Valverde replacing Modric at RCM. Who knows.
Does it make sense to keep chasing Mbappe if Vinicius keeps doing and even improves on what he’s doing on the left side?
Does Mbappe ever want to make that evolution centrally when he’s then naturally playing less facing the goal.
Back to topic, Bellingham will be wanted, that is obvious. Game time right now at Real wouldn’t be a stumbling block I don’t think. It would happen next summer and Modric will be 38 then. Even if he gets another year, it’s really the final stage now.
Agreed. All the more reason that the asking price is taking the piss
I agree with a lot of what you and @redfanman say. My initial post which @redfanman responded to was regarding me saying that we could can learn from Dortmund - and not hate them - which wasn’t quoted in his response.
So, Dortmund have put potentially £100m profit on Bellingham, £70M+ on Sancho and should have made a killing on Haaland. None of these players were nailed on to double their money and if they were so nailed on to be a success why have we not been confident to give him more reassurance? We could have signed him and loaned him to Dortmund, for no fee and pay all of his wages. Bellingham still gets the first team football he requires and guess what we save £100m in the long run or additionally we could end up with nothing.
What if Bellingham flunked? £25m on a 17yr old wouldn’t have looked so wise. Dortmund as you suggest would have been committed to give him game time? What if he didn’t perform would they still play him? What if he got a serious injury?
For a known selling club, they were brave and confident in their decision making and I admire that. Yes, their model is different and maybe the pressure for them to win trophies - to the outside observers is less - but isn’t that ignorance. I assume many a Dortmund fan would feel differently, especially given the recent successes under Klopp and Tuchel.
Additionally, if the league pressure is more intense for us why were we willing to put so much dependence on a young TAA, maybe because he was free, if he cost £25m would we have signed him?
Before Elliotts injury, he had started the first couple of games that season and this season as a 19yr old been a regular starter but again he was tribunal.
In my opinion, If a player is that nailed on to be a special talent you find a way to give them reassurances, but you also have to be in talks to give them reassurances. Again, by all accounts I have seen no credible reports to suggest we were actually in for Bellingham.
He passed to Trent today.
Hendo was constantly in his ear