The Two Jude Bellingham Alternatives Liverpool Should Sign

Liverpool are set to make a move for Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham next summer, but Glen Johnson has suggested 2 alternatives if an agreement can’t be reached with the Bundesliga outfit.

After spending heavily on Darwin Nuñez, Calvin Ramsay, and Fabio Carvalho, Liverpool have decided to postpone their pursuit of a new star midfielder.

The engine room of Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool side is ageing, with Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson, and James Milner all the wrong side of 30.

Jude Bellingham has been highly linked with a move

As such, a player the club have long admired has been touted to make the switch to Anfield next summer – Jude Bellingham.

However, any such move for the former Birmingham City man would be pricey, and there’ll be a plethora of suitors for him.

Should Liverpool fail to persuade him to move to Merseyside, speaking to GGrecon, Glen Johnson has recommended his former club make a move for Declan Rice or Nicolo Barella. 

Johnson believes Rice would be an ideal replacement for Jordan Henderson, saying the West Ham midfielder would “fit that role” which Henderson fulfils in the Liverpool squad “perfectly.”

Henderson is not out of contract with the Anfield club until 2025, and is the captain of Jürgen Klopp’s side, but Johnson believes the Englishman could look at what “Sadio Mané has done and leave” Liverpool at some point.

Rice is one of the Premier League’s most coveted talents, and Johnson is right to suggest he’d suit the role Jordan Henderson currently plays at Liverpool.

Sadio Mane departed the club earlier this summer

West Ham are reluctant to sell at the moment, but could be next summer when the Reds are hunting for a new midfielder.

Barella would be a very different option.

He has been linked with a Liverpool switch, potentially in some form of swap deal involving Naby Keita, and Johnson notes the Italian would add much needed “goals and grab assists” at Anfield.

Bellingham remains Liverpool’s priority. If he does leave Dortmund next summer, Liverpool would appear to be his most likely destination.

However, a lot can change in the space of a year, and Liverpool would be wise to be keeping tabs on Johnson’s suggested alternatives.