Liverpool have potentially made ground in the chase for one of football’s most in-demand stars in Jude Bellingham, with one prominent journalist making an exciting revelation in recent days as the Reds potentially make ground in unearthing the next Steven Gerrard.
The 19-year-old has emerged as one of the hottest prospects in world football since arriving at Borussia Dortmund in an initial £25m deal in 2019, with a wealth of ambitious clubs now vying for his signature.
According to German journalist Christian Falk, Reds manager Jurgen Klopp has been pushing to complete a deal for the prodigious talent and is reportedly the frontrunner to clinch his signature this year.
As per Caught Offside on Friday, Falk has stated that Klopp is the driving force behind the Merseyside outfit's belief that a seismic transfer can be wrapped up, beating two of the game's giants Manchester City and Real Madrid in the race.
He said: "Jurgen Klopp remains the hope of Liverpool, he’s been convincing in terms of his plans for the player but Dortmund, of course, want a lot of money.
“Bellingham would like to play for Liverpool. His father, who is the main character in this potential deal, is also convinced of that but Dortmund has to get the money for this deal.”
According to German outlet Sport Bild earlier this season, Dortmund will not open the gates for a transfer unless their £129m valuation is met, which presents a potential stumbling block for a club which doesn't boast the same affluence as other interested suitors.
Should the Merseyside giants land a deal for him, though, the benefits would be immense. Still only 19 years old, the England international has already made 112 appearances for Dortmund, scoring 19 goals and supplying 21 assists, along with winning the German Cup in 2020/21 for his efforts.
So far this season, the 22-cap box-to-box midfielder has chalked up nine goals and three assists from 22 appearances, with his four goals in the Champions League an indication of his strength on the biggest stage.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the "prodigy" - as hailed by Raphael Honigstein - was immense, recording an exceptional Sofascore rating of 7.34 and scoring in England's 6-2 win against Iran, starting all five of his country's matches at the tournament.
As per FBref, among the top five leagues in Europe over the past 12 months, Bellingham ranks within the top 6% of midfielders for goals, top 4% for dribbles completed, top 18% for interceptions and top 19% for blocks. That illustrates a level of maturity and intensity which very much belies his tender age.
Indeed, such are his qualities that he has already captained Dortmund on a handful of occasions, despite still being only a teenager.
With many years of superlative football hopefully ahead of him, if he comes to Anfield, the £49k-per-week phenomenon could emulate Liverpool's iconic former captain Gerrard in his talismanic central role for the club.
Imagine him etching his name into Merseyside folklore with his leadership and orchestrating control on matches, a definitive force behind the club's ambitions to continue the recent spree of silverware under Klopp's tutelage.
Gerrard won a wealth of major honours with Liverpool over a legendary career at Anfield, making 710 appearances in red and scoring 186 goals, along with claiming 153 assists.
Labelled as "powerful" and a "superstar" by Roy Keane, Bellingham looks well set for a career laden in triumph, both individually and with whichever high-profile outfit he indeed chooses to join after Dortmund.
Having already added a plethora of major honours to the Anfield trophy cabinet, Klopp could now bring in a modern-day version of the iconic Gerrard if he can lure another superb English midfield leader in Bellingham to the club.