Jamie Carragher has described Jude Bellingham as ‘the perfect fit’ for Liverpool and thinks the Reds will spend £200m on their midfield.
The Reds failed to sign a midfielder on a permanent basis last summer and had to settle for the loan capture of Arthur Melo.
Injuries and poor form have seen Liverpool’s midfield come in for fierce criticism and with Jordan Henderson, Thiago and James Milner over the age of 30, the Reds are in desperate need to bring their average age down.
Bellingham, 19, has been on Liverpool’s radar for the last two years but his departure from Dortmund has always been pencilled in for 2023.
Liverpool are expected to battle the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City for his signature at the end of the season but he’s valued at around £120m by the German giants and the competition is stiff.
The Reds’ owners spent less than that in the last summer transfer window, despite the club’s need to strengthen, but there is a new twist in the tale with Liverpool having been put up for sale by Fenway Sports Group.
That could see a new owner come in and spend big money, much like the situation at Chelsea in the summer when Todd Boehly took over from Roman Abramovich and spent a whopping £275m on new players.
‘The issue is that the players don’t have the energy to play a full game at the intensity they’ve played at in previous seasons,’ Carragher told The Overlap.
‘Teams are now matching their energy, but this isn’t something that Liverpool has adapted.
‘The Arsenal game was a fine example of this – when they played Liverpool off the pitch in the second half – and that is why I can see Liverpool spending up to £200m on their midfield in the summer.
‘Jude Bellingham would be the perfect fit, but he would be a lot of money. When Liverpool have spent big money in the past, it’s been on the goalkeeper and Virgil Van Dijk, who were bought in at great age profiles.
‘Signing Jude Bellingham would be for a lot of money, but it would get to two years down the line and people would see it as a bargain.
‘At his age, you’d have him for at least five seasons before he’d move on, which is a great investment for the club.’
Jamie Carragher was speaking on The Overlap, in partnership with .
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