(Football news) Liverpool have ended their long-standing interest in signing Jude Bellingham due to the potential cost involved in completing a deal for the midfielder. While there has been no official comment, the club believe that paying over £100m for one player is not the strategy they wish to pursue to rectify their midfield woes. Liverpool will be looking to strengthen their squad in the summer transfer window and will be targeting at least two midfielders.

It has been a dismal season for Jurgen Klopp’s side and the German manager has said that they will have smart recruitment over the summer to bolster their on-field performance. He said “Whatever we do next year will never be enough from people’s point of view and your [the media’s] point of view. But yes, with smart recruitment we will improve – definitely. 

“That is the plan. We cannot make 24 changes and say, ‘here we go’ – not even 10 – but it is just that we have to make changes, smart changes, and then we go again. We have other moments when we think about what will happen next year but this is not the moment.”

Bellingham is considered one of the brightest prospects in world football at the moment and pulling out of the transfer is a big blow for Liverpool. The midfielder is likely to usurp the £106m that Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernandez in January. Real Madrid now have a clear shot at Bellingham but it’s also possible that he might remain at Borussia Dortmund even though it’s unlikely. 

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