The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- Judith Benjamin
Rio Ferdinand slammed Liverpool’s chances of landing Jude Bellingham after their torrid season so far, while his former team-mate Owen Hargreaves claimed the youngster will be enticed by ‘a project’.
The BT pundits debated Bellingham’s future on Wednesday evening, with most of Europe’s top clubs currently vying for the youngster’s signature after his meteoric rise at Borussia Dortmund.
And while Liverpool had seemed among the front-runners for some time, Ferdinand and Hargreaves disagreed over whether they were still a viable option for the 19-year-old.
The Reds have become one of the world’s leading teams under Jurgen Klopp in recent years, reaching three of the last five Champions League finals, but suffered a 5-2 humbling at home to Real Madrid and sit eighth in the Premier League.
Liverpool are currently also in a transition with an expected overhaul of the squad thought to target both the defence and midfield, and it was for this reason that Ferdinand suggested Bellingham may look elsewhere.
Jude Bellingham will likely prove the prize in a mass bidding war this summer between many of Europe’s top clubs
Rio Ferdinand believes that Liverpool will not even be on his ‘radar’ after their poor campaign
‘A year ago, six months ago, I don’t think Jude Bellingham even questions Liverpool’s trajectory because they were in a different place, and they’re in the toss-up of where he’s going to go,’ began the ex-England centre-back.
‘At the moment I don’t think they’ll even be on his radar and that’ll be very disappointing for Liverpool fans to hear.
‘I think the club’s in a transition at the moment, the club’s up for sale – whatever that looks like – and more importantly the team isn’t playing well and there’s a transition of players in the team. There’s some older players that need shifting and moving on and there’s some young players.
‘The way things are going at Liverpool, I think he’ll be looking at that and thinking “I want to be challenging right now,” and I don’t think they will be.
‘Does he come into that or does he go to a team that look like they’ll be winning soon or right now? Real Madrid have to be top of the list at the moment.’
But former Manchester United midfielder Hargreaves was of the opposite opinion, suggesting that a ‘project’ is exactly what the youngster will want to be a part of when ultimately decides on his future.
‘I think he takes a project that he realises he can have the biggest impact on.
‘I think he might like (the situation at Liverpool) because he can get them back to where they should be.’
Owen Hargreaves was adamant that Bellingham would pick a ‘project’ for his next club
