As Liverpool’s winless run extended to four matches courtesy of Tuesday night’s 0-0 draw with Chelsea, their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League continue to fade.
The Reds dropped to eighth in the table after the latest midweek round of Premier League fixtures, while they have a 10-point deficit to make up on the top four. With their four-game winless run also including a Champions League round-of-16 exit at the hands of Real Madrid, Jurgen Klopp is well-aware how big a task his side is currently staring down if they are to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition against the odds.
Should Liverpool miss out on Champions League football, it inevitably seems that such a plight will also have a n/e/g/a/t/i/v/e knock-on effect on their potential summer transfer business. And not just because they will miss out on the riches on offer from competing for the European Cup.
The main concern would of course be whether the Reds would be in a position to sign Jude Bellingham, considering the Borussia Dortmund midfielder would cost a club-record fee of over £100m and Liverpool would find themselves challenged by the likes of Man City and Real Madrid for the England international’s signature regardless.
Considering the Reds’ struggles this season, Kopites have understandably grown increasingly pessimistic when it comes to the possibility of their side signing Bellingham.
If they missed out on Aurelien Tchouameni to Real Madrid last summer for example, off the back of nearly winning an unprecedented quadruple, what chance could they possibly have now of emerging victorious in such a high-profile transfer pursuit?
Yet they have previously had the better of Real Madrid when the two sides competed to sign a young English midfielder, having snapped up Harvey Elliott from Fulham in the summer of 2019.
Speaking on the We Are Liverpool podcast, the 20-year-old, who made several appearances alongside Bellingham for England Under-15s and Under-17s, геvеаlеԀ he was close to joining the La Liga giants before the Reds made their interest known.
“Yeah, I did [have a chance of signing for Real Madrid]. It was several things, to be honest, and I was close to going to Madrid,” he said. “But as soon as Liverpool came in, that was it. My heart was set on it because of being a Liverpool fan.
“All of the family, it was my dad’s dream to play for Liverpool but he didn’t quite make it. My brother as well, he’s the biggest Liverpool fan I’ve seen. He knows things even I don’t know and I’m the one that plays for the team.”
Elliott has spoken of Real Madrid’s attempts to sign him in the past, admitting he had turned down the opportunity to meet Sergio Ramos because of the Spaniard’s role in forcing Mohamed Salah off injured in the 2018 Champions League final.
“‘No, it’s okay, thanks, I don’t like him after what he did to Mo Salah,'” the Athletic reported telling shocked Real Madrid bosses at the time, having been in Kyiv with his father for the final in 2018.
“Yeah, that’s true,” he would admit to the same publication. “I turned it down because of what he did to Mo.”
While Bellingham might not be a boyhood Liverpool fan like Elliott, it’s well-documented that he grew up worshipping Reds legend Steven Gerrard. Meanwhile, his close friendships with Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are well-known from England duty.
He’s also played alongside Elliott, Fabio Carvalho, and Curtis Jones in the Three Lions’ youth ranks, along with Liverpool youngsters Rhys Williams, Jarell Quansah, James Balagizi, and James Norris, while Dortmund team-mate Emre Can also tells him all he needs to know about Klopp’s Liverpool.
Whether any of that proves advantageous for the Reds’ hopes of signing the midfielder гҽмɑᎥ𝚗s to be seen, especially when countered by the prospective lack of Champions League football and accompanying riches.
But having seen Elliott snub Real Madrid’s advances in favor of Liverpool in 2019, Reds bosses will be crossing their fingers that history can repeat itself when Bellingham does decide his future come the summer.
