Reports in the British media suggest Liverpool could raise £61.2million by the start of the January transfer window through Champions League earnings and player sales.
The 2022/23 season began awfully for Liverpool with draws and defeats not an uncommon sight at the moment with the only positive to note being that the Reds have progressed to the Champions League Round of 16 without much fuss.
In fact, despite playing just 6 games in the Champions League compared to the 12 they’ve played in the Premier League, Liverpool have almost as many points in European competition this season (15) as they do in their league fixtures (16).
All this really highlights is how far the bar has dropped in Premier League matches for Jurgen Klopp’s men because that simply isn’t good enough.
Lack of midfield quality the main reason for Liverpool’s demise
Liverpool came into this season as double domestic cup winners having nearly won the quadruple and it’s understandable that the players may still be reeling from the emotional and physical toll last season likely took on them.
Yet, the quality on show has simply been tragic at times and nobody can escape criticism aside from Alisson Becker and Thiago Alcantara. They’re the only players that have consistently demonstrated their class.
Around them and around Thiago, in particular, the levels shown simply haven’t been good enough.
Liverpool desperately needed a new midfielder in the summer and many fans warned that not bringing one in could undo all of the hard work Klopp and his coaching staff had done until the start of this season.
And those premonitions have been vindicated. 9th in the Premier League and 15 points off the pace after only 12 games is actually just embarrassing for a team that got 92 last season.
Even if Liverpool won all their games remaining in the league this season (26), they would only be able to finish on 90 points and would miss last season’s tally by 2.
Liverpool could raise £61.2million to fund January signing
It’s not unlikely Liverpool will dip into the transfer market in the New Year given how poor results have been this season.
A report from the Daily Express explains how Liverpool could earn £61.2million to bloat their transfer budget and potentially direct it towards an early deal to sign Jude Bellingham.
Any takers?
Here is how the Express’ Stuart Ballard explains it could come to pass:
- £61.2million total from CL earnings and three player sales
- Liverpool already have £20.2M in CL earnings after progressing to the Round of 16 and winning five group games. (This may be why Klopp was so ready to field a strong team in the final game of the round against Napoli despite having nothing to play for but pride)
- Julian Ward urged to sell Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for a combined total of £34.2M. (This would bring the total to £54.4M)
- Nathaniel Phillips named as a potential £7.2M sale
This would generate a total of £61.6M which FSG could use to sign Jude Bellingham.
Is signing Jude Bellingham in January a feasible option?
Given that Liverpool could be without Champions League football next season if they are unable to sort their league form out, signing Bellingham early could be a wise move.
Should the season end with Liverpool outside the Premier League top four, it would be practically impossible to compete with Real Madrid given their finances and golden guarantee of Champions League football every season.
A report from the print version of Sport Bild suggests that Jurgen Klopp and FSG have agreed to go all in on signing Bellingham but the owners have not set aside enough money to sign him.
The German outlet claims they have reserved €100M to offer Dortmund but the Bundesliga outfit will demand at least €150M.
And so, any extra money that Liverpool can generate could go a long, long way to ensuring the English prodigy becomes the next Red.
