Liverpool now ready to battle Man United and Chelsea for Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo after withdrawing from Jude Bellingham race

Liverpool have ended their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham for the German club’s £100m asking price; Sky Germany says the club will target at least two new midfielders, including Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo, Nicolo Barella, Matheus Nunes and Ryan Gravenberch

Image: West Ham captain Declan Rice and Brighton’s Moises Caicedo are two midfield options Liverpool are considering signing in place of Jude Bellingham.

Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo are on the list of alternatives for Liverpool’s Jude Bellingham, according to Sky Germany, as the club look for reinforcements in midfield.

Liverpool have ended their hunt for Borussia Dortmund’s teenage midfielder for the German club’s £100m asking price.

Although long-time admirers of Bellingham, Liverpool believe such a large outlay for a single player is not the right strategy to correct the slump in form they have suffered this season.

Liverpool will be active this summer as they look to overhaul their squad and target at least two new midfielders. Sky Germania reports the Reds will join Rice and Caicedo to watch Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella, Wolves’ Matheus Nunes and Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch

Jürgen Klopp said last week the club would improve its chances on the pitch through smart recruiting, but said now was not the time to focus on title plans.

“No matter what we do next year, it will never be enough from people’s point of view and from your [media’s] point of view,” he said.

“But yes, with smart recruitment we will definitely improve. That’s the plan. We can’t make 24 changes and say let’s go – not even 10 – but we just have to make changes, smart changes, and then go.

“We have other times where we think about what will happen next year, but now is not the right time.”

Vinny O’Connor explains why the club appear to have pulled out of the race to try and sign Jude Bellingham.

Sky Sports News senior reporter Melissa Reddy asks if Liverpool have been clinging to the idea of ​​signing Jude Bellingham for too long as their interest seems to have waned…

The main circumstances have not changed: Borussia Dortmund’s valuation is unchanged and Liverpool’s urgent need for a midfield operation as part of a wider rebuild remains. Why, then, did the Premier League club end their pursuit of Jude Bellingham – a player they valued above all else for nearly three years?

Anfield’s sounds suggest the decision is practical, which in isolation is a fair stance. The scale of the work at hand means it wouldn’t be wise for a company working within its means to spend over £100million on talent, no matter how phenomenal.

However, Liverpool have spent a number of transfer windows ignoring the apparent need to strengthen the midfield while waiting for “the right player”. It had long since become code for Bellingham, which Jurgen Klopp previously admitted meant the club didn’t sign simply because he was unavailable. The big game has been reserved for this summer. Meanwhile, other goals have been missed, a season has been stalled, a tougher transition awaits and Liverpool’s bargaining position has been badly weakened, with clubs being sold alive to see how much stronger they need to get.

ESPN reporter Julien Laurens believes Liverpool could have saved Darwin Nunez some money and should have used some of it to invest in a top midfielder like Jude Bellingham.

“If we are honest, there are only three clubs that can afford him. I think he will leave Dortmund this summer to go to one of the three. “Manchester City, he will replace Ilkay Gundogan and reunite with his best friend Erling Haaland, he will work with Guardiola and this City team would be even better with him.

“There is Real Madrid, we don’t know what will happen at the end of this season with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. They have a younger midfield for the next 10 years with Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde. Bellingham could be the one another addition.

“The last club is PSG who think they have money to spend because they will like financial fair play and they also need to get stronger in midfield. “I don’t know where Bellingham would go. Manchester United may be in the running, but they need money for other positions, like a striker. You can’t spend £120m on Bellingham and then another £120m on a run now.” You have to make choices.”

Sky Germany journalist Jesco von Eichmann says he is shocked Liverpool are pulling out of the race for Jude Bellingham so early and believes the England midfielder will leave Borussia Dortmund this summer.

“For any big European club interested in Bellingham it’s just a matter of cost. “If the new owners of Man Utd can and want to afford it, it could be a prestigious object for them to say ‘hello, we’re the new ones and we’ve bought you Jude Bellingham’. Man Utd may be one candidates and has already kept an eye on him.

“The whole package is so expensive. It’s not just Dortmund’s money, which is around 150 million euros, it’s their salary. There are only a few clubs – Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United and PSG – who can afford it.”

Also.. 

Jurgen Klopp ready to fight back against ‘difficult’ Leeds ‘They owe us 3 points’ 

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said there was no point talking about things he couldn’t have when asked about the club’s decision to pull out of the race to sign the midfielder English midfielder Jude Bellingham.

Liverpool have long been linked with the Borussia Dortmund teenager, considered one of the world’s brightest young talents, and have reportedly done extensive preparatory work to bring the 19-year-old to Anfield this summer.

But with Manchester City and Real Madrid also interested in a move, the overall price of the package now seems beyond Liverpool’s reach, forcing Klopp to look elsewhere for his midfield overhaul.

“I have nothing to say about it,” Klopp said at a press conference on Friday. “We’re not talking about players we sign or not, so we’re not talking about this kind of speculation now. There’s nothing to say about that.

“It’s not about Jude Bellingham, my answer now, but I’ve never understood why we talk about things we theoretically can’t have.

We can’t have six players in one summer, all for £100m. Anyone would say it’s obvious. “You have to figure out what you can do and then get to work. This is your job. We are not children. If you ask a five-year-old what he wants for Christmas and he says I don’t know a Ferrari, you wouldn’t say it’s a good idea, you’d say it’s too expensive and besides you can’t drive it.

“If this guy was really unhappy because he didn’t have a Ferrari, it would be a very sad life. “You see what you can and work with it. That’s how I’ve always worked. What we need and what we want we all try to get, but there are times when we have to accept and step back and do other things.

After last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal, Klopp is now focused on Monday’s trip to Elland Road to face a Leeds side whose new manager under Javi Gracia finished last weekend in style. conceding four goals in the second half and losing 5.-1 at home to Crystal Palace team-mates.

Leeds are the only team to beat Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League this season and Klopp is keen to repay them.

“You owe us three points,” he said. “It will be a big fight, a big fight in the situation Leeds are in.

“Their last game (against Palace), these kinds of games can happen. They’re actually in a pretty good time, but they’ve taken quite a hit in this game. These things can happen, because the magical Roy (Hodgson) is back. Palace is a very good team. It was a tough nut to crack.

“We expect them to be on the ball, a massive fight, an appropriate atmosphere. It’s going to be tough but we have to build on two games where we’ve been good or very good at times. We’ll try that.

Klopp will welcome back Luis Diaz, who is available for the first time since being injured in the 3-2 loss to Arsenal on October 9.

“He’s 100% ready and trained, now we have to bring him back,” Klopp said of the Colombian striker. “It’s in the selection if nothing happens.”

When asked if his return was like a new signing, Klopp added: “Yes, absolutely … Luis has grown a lot, his English is improving, he’s settled in, he’s matured and he’s much more comfortable in All.

“We’re happy to have him back. He’s a breath of fresh air. He can’t train without a smile on his face and that’s something special. But he’s been out for a long time so we need to see how we can take him step by step to fetch .”