"Now the top, top target..." - Journalist claims Klopp has demanded Liverpool launch bid for international star

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has told Reds chiefs that they must focus on bringing Jude Bellingham to Anfield over all other targets, according to a new report.

Klopp's side have been linked with a long-term interest in the England international, who came through the youth ranks at Birmingham before moving to Borussia Dortmund in 2020.

The 18-year-old featured prominently for the Three Lions at the World Cup, and is one of the top players in the Bundesliga already at such a young age.

The box-to-box midfielder has attracted the attentions of some of Europe's biggest clubs, with Real Madrid and Manchester City among the other sides credited with an interest.

But the latest update suggests that it is Klopp who is the most desperate to sign Bellingham this summer.

Klopp 'wants to sign Bellingham'

German football journalist Christian Falk has tweeted that Bellingham is now Liverpool's 'top, top target' - and their manager is said to have told club chiefs that they must focus all their attentions on signing the midfielder ahead of other targets.

Falk wrote: "Jurgen Klopp made his thoughts very clear: Bellingham is now the top, top target.

"He said that every other transfer should be pushed down the pecking order; names like Randal Kolo Muani aren't as important at the moment."

Liverpool's midfield has been an area of criticism this season, with a number of players also out of contract in the summer. They include Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, while Arthur Melo looks set to return to Juventus following the conclusion of his loan spell at Anfield.

Meanwhile, transfer journalist Dean Jones recently told GiveMeSport that Bellingham could look to follow a strategy used by Erling Haaland, by staying at Dortmund for another year until the conclusion of Euro 2024.

That may mean that Liverpool, and other interested clubs, would have to wait until then to launch a bid, but Klopp is seemingly keen to sign him before then.