Liverpool do not necessarily have the edge in the race to sign Borussia Dortmund and England midfielder Jude Bellingham for Jürgen Klopp’s squad at Anfield, despite the player’s father reportedly wanting him to join the Reds, transfer insider Dean Jones has suggested to GiveMeSport.

The 19-year-old has been linked with a move to several European giants ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window.

Liverpool transfer news – Jude Bellingham

According to a report in The Express back in December, Bellingham’s family, including his father Mark, would prefer for the midfielder to make the move to Liverpool over Real Madrid this summer.

It has been suggested by The Athletic that the 22-time England international is also being courted by Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United as well as Liverpool and Real Madrid, with Dortmund valuing the exciting talent at around £131m.

And The Sun reports that the Bundesliga side are demanding that any buying club will have to pay £100m upfront for the services of the former Birmingham City talent, something which will no doubt deplete a large proportion of the Reds’ transfer budget.

CBS reporter Ben Jacobs has previously told GiveMeSport that Liverpool consider themselves front runners in the race for Bellingham’s signature, having put in the groundwork ahead of a potential deal later this year.

However, Jones believes that the family’s preference for the midfielder to move to Anfield will make no impact on where the England star’s next destination is.

What has Jones said about Liverpool and Bellingham?

When speaking about the family’s preference for Bellingham’s next move, Jones told GiveMeSport: “The thing is, that's just one of the factors and there are so many involved in picking a new club. So actually, I don't think Liverpool have much of an edge over the others, even if it does seem to be significant that his Dad likes them and that his Dad has a massive say in what happens next.”

Would Bellingham be a good signing for Liverpool?

Bellingham has enjoyed an excellent campaign on both the club and international stage so far.

The Stourbridge-born star has hit the back of the net nine times and provided three assists in 22 appearances for Dortmund this season according to Transfermarkt, suggesting that he can chip in with several goal contributions across the course of a campaign.

This was followed up by a fantastic showing for Gareth Southgate’s England side at the World Cup as the Three Lions reached the quarter-finals in Qatar.

Bellingham was able to score his first international goal in the side’s 6-2 victory over Iran, and achieved a WhoScored rating of 7.58 for his displays in the Middle East, ranking him as the nation’s second-top performing player behind Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka.

Therefore, it looks as though whatever club can secure the signing of the talented teenager will have a real future talent on their hands.

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