IT was a bit strange how Liverpool have let it be known that they won’t be signing Jude Bellingham this summer.
Because there is only one club Bellingham has publicly stated he wants to play for in the future — and that is Birmingham City!
Liverpool have pulled out of the bidding war for Borussia Dortmund star Jude BellinghamRex
Borussia Dortmund’s Brummie star has stated he’d like to go back and finish his career with the boyhood club he started out with as a 15-year-old.
Of course, Jude will not be heading to St Andrews next season.
Even as club captain and a lifelong Bluenose, I am happy to admit that Real Madrid or the Manchester clubs might be more tempting options for him.
Many people assume that Jude, who has never played in the Premier League, will fancy a return to English football, but I’m not so sure.
Kids of his generation grew up in the Messi-Ronaldo era and most of them know more about Real and Barcelona than any English clubs.
There is a real lure for them in playing for either of those Spanish giants.
Just imagine being Jude, though. He is still only 19 and he seems to have all of the world’s biggest and most glamorous clubs desperate to sign him.
If that was me, my head would explode. It would be the same for most teenage lads.
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But Jude is still totally at his game, aiming for the Bundesliga title with Dortmund. His head doesn’t seem to have been turned at all.
In the summer, if he does move, he will be looking around and asking, ‘What is the best project for me?’
And that wasn’t going to be the Reds, given that they are extremely unlikely to be playing Champions League football and they need an entire midfield overhaul.
For me, the Santiago Bernabeu is his most likely destination.
I watched Real against Chelsea on Wednesday and it was no more than a six or seven out of 10 performance by the ridiculously high standards of the 14-time European champions.
But even then, players like Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior made your jaw drop at times.
Real are regenerating their midfield – the wonderful Modric is 37 now, Toni Kroos, at 33, has openly talked about retiring this summer, and Casemiro has already moved on to Manchester United.
Troy Deeney believes Real Madrid will benefit from Liverpool ending Bellingham interestGetty
They have some wonderful young players, the likes of 20-year-old Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde, 24, Rodrygo and of course Vinicius — both 22.
I’m sure Jude would love to be part of that. What an opportunity for him it would be.
And having been at Dortmund since he was 16, he is used to living and playing abroad.
Going to Madrid will not be as daunting for him as it would be for a young English player moving straight from a Premier League club.
Not that anything seems to faze Jude, anyway.
I think going to Germany at such a young age has been the making of him.
That formative experience is what will help turn him into a genuine world great.
I know the family, Jude’s brother Jobe is a team-mate of mine, and I know the move had some challenges for them in the early days but it was the right decision to go to the Bundesliga and it has paid off handsomely.
Bellingham has attracted immense interest from the Premier LeagueGetty
I am convinced he will captain England and whichever teams he plays for.
He’s already skippered Dortmund and they are a massive club with a passionate fanbase.
It seems that Manchester City will be Real’s main rivals for Jude’s signature.
I look at how another Brummie, Jack Grealish, has developed so brilliantly under Pep Guardiola and know that Jude could add new dimensions to his already world-class all-round game.
But then again Real’s gaffer Carlo Ancelotti, with his four European Cups, isn’t exactly a clown, is he?
As for Liverpool, it seems as if they are keen to sign Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher from Chelsea.
Now, they are two decent players and a lot younger than their current midfield, which clearly needs some refreshing.
But those two are not players who would go to Anfield and change the whole mood of the club.
Bellingham still has a soft spot for childhood club BirminghamPA
They are more like younger versions of what Liverpool already have.
Jude would have been that game-changer but I’m not sure he would ever have chosen them above Real, for instance.
And now that Jurgen Klopp’s team won’t be among the European elite next season, that is even clearer.
It feels like Liverpool are deliberately lowering the expectations of their supporters ahead of the summer transfer market because so many of those fans seemed convinced that Jude would be the player to revitalise their team.
Presumably they thought Liverpool’s passionate fanbase and great history might be an irresistible lure for him.
But as every Birmingham fan knows, there is only one club Jude gets truly emotional about!