In what appears to have been a co-ordinated tip off from Liverpool FC, several media journalists have been briefed that our 'interest' in Borussia Dortmund star, Jude Bellingham, is now over.
How serious Liverpool were in the quest for the English midfielder is open to question - however it has been a hot topic on social media ever since last summer when there were indications that Jude would have just one more year in Germany.
The scale of Liverpool's decline this season, coupled with the owners launching a plan to sell the club, has seriously affected future planning.
LFC are rumoured to have said the deal 'stopped making sense'. It was a case of putting all their eggs in one basket and even then - there was no guarantee that Bellingham would definitely leave Dortmund or definitely join Liverpool. A host of other top clubs are interested in the player.
Need more than one player
The £130M expected cost of a package for Bellingham is deemed too expensive for a club that is likely looking at a bare minimum requirement of two first team midfielders along with the likely removal of Champions League income.
After a punishing season last year, the reds have been beset by form and injury problems. James Milner, Naby Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain are all out of contract in the summer and Bobby Firmino will be departing the club.
There are huge question marks over the form of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho and both Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott have not hit the heights that perhaps they were expected.
In short, Liverpool's problems do not appear able to be fixed by just one player - despite how talented he is.
However, Liverpool are one of the highest revenue football clubs on the planet and also one of the lowest spenders in recent years. Since the reds return to winning the Champions League in 2019 they are one of the lowest spenders in the Premier League and it is argued by many fans that it is this failure to build when on top of their game that has led to the current predicament.
Liverpool face a huge summer in terms of recruitment and a reset amongst those players who will be kept for 2023/24.
