Transfer News

STEVEN GERRARD has offered to “fly to Dortmund personally and take Jude Bellingham out for a nice dinner” to convince him to join Liverpool.The England World Cup star, 19, is one of the most in-demand players in world football.
An ex-Liverpool captain is ready to help them land Jude BellinghamCredit: Getty
Steven Gerrard says he will fly to Dortmund and convince the star personallyCredit: AFP
“All he needs to do is send his diary over, I’ll fly over to Dortmund, take him out for a nice dinner and we’ll talk about it!” 😂Steven Gerrard is adamant that Liverpool need to get their hands on Jude Bellingham in the summer… 👀🎙️ @lynseyhipgrave1 pic.twitter.com/M429zNz0tP— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 21, 2023

Liverpool and Real Madrid are believed to be leading the chase for the midfielder, who is under contract until 2025.
And the ex-Birmingham City ace is also on the wanted lists of Manchester City, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain – although Dortmund are adamant they want him to stay.
It was reported earlier this week that Bellingham was in talks with both Madrid and Jurgen Klopp’s Reds over a summer transfer.
Now former Reds captain Gerrard, who was sacked by Aston Villa last month, is ready to help Klopp secure the signature of the one man he believes the Reds need. 
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Stevie G, who was at Anfield today as a pundit covering Liverpool’s goalless draw with Chelsea, told BT Sport: “All he needs to do is send his diary to me when he’s got a free day.
“I’ll fly to Dortmund personally, take him out for a nice dinner, and we’ll talk about it!
“On the back of the World Cup, what he’s doing out in Dortmund. I’m a huge fan of him anyway. The way he comes across, the way he speaks about the game. Every time I’ve watched him he impresses me.
“He’s the obvious one, because I do think that at the moment, now that [Jordan] Henderson has adapted his game and he covers Trent [Alexander-Arnold] on that right hand side, Thiago‘s more of a footballer, Fabinho stays, Liverpool are lacking this running No. 8 who can arrive in the box, get you a goal, who’s got that power, that burst, who can leave someone for dead.
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“Bellingham ticks all those boxes. He’s the obvious one, but I think it’s important we don’t become obsessed with one midfielder.
“It’s Liverpool Football Club. Everyone around the world knows that Liverpool will be looking, will be scouting midfielders. There’s a lot of very good midfielders around the world.”
Despite Liverpool’s struggles in the top-flight this term, Gerrard also insisted that Bellingham is “bright” enough to know that Anfield is still the ideal place to continue his development.
He said: “Liverpool are in the middle of the table, but I’m sure Jude’s bright enough to go ‘hang on a minute, there’s a stand going up here, it’s going to be a 60,000 stadium, they’ve got one of the best five managers in the world, they’ve won the Premier League of late, they’ve been in Champions League finals of late, they play very well here, they’ve got some fabulous players, they develop players.
“It ticks an awful lot of boxes, but Liverpool in the league, right now are in the middle of the table.”
Despite the lure of Bernabeu and Real Madrid, Gerrard also thinks it is vital Bellingham returns to these shores rather than risk being “swallowed up” at a big club foreign club.
He added: “I think it’s important he stays in this country.
“He’s 19 years of age. They’re talking about Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
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“I know he’s doing it in Dortmund now, but those clubs are at a higher level than Dortmund. You can get swallowed up, there’s a lot of world stars. You can get swallowed up by making the move too soon.
“In my opinion, staying around England, staying around this country, getting developed. There’s growth in him, he can evolve. I think staying in England until he hits his peak years is very important for the boy now.” More

LIVERPOOL are in talks with Roberto Firmino over extending his stay at Anfield, according to reports.The 31-year-old is in the final six months of his contract with the Reds.
Liverpool are in talks over extending Firmino’s contractCredit: Getty
His £35.9million transfer from German side Hoffenheim in 2015 has been a resounding success.
Firmino has helped the club win the Premier League, Champions League, an FA Cup and a Carabao Cup.
The Brazil international also has two Champions League runner-up medals, as well as one in the Europa League.
Firmino has scored 107 goals and provided 78 assists in 348 games on Merseyside.
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Thirteen of those goal contributions have come this season.
And according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool would like to hand Firmino an extended stay.
It would only be a short-term extension, but Firmino is happy to stay at the club.
He said: “It’s fantastic playing high-level football here with great players.
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“I’m happy here and I intend to stay here and help Liverpool.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has also had his say on Firmino’s contract.
He said: “They are normal things. What could be the reason from our point of view?
“There is no reason to give too detailed information but when you think a bit, where could it hang?
“It could be the time, it could be the money or these kinds of things, but it is completely normal.
“Bobby knows the situation here and what we think of him, that’s clear.
“And there is nothing else to say, there is no problem or whatever, it is just the situation. I can’t see any kind of problems there.
“He was [so important], he is. I think in the first part of the season we were not flying but Bobby was the only one who played a pretty good season.
“He was probably the only one who played a kind of normal season in a lot of games, at least.” More