Liverpool have several top-quality options if Jude Bellingham joins Real Madrid instead of them in the summer.
Liverpool have four Plan B options after Jude Bellingham ‘snubs Reds for Real Madrid move’ (Image: GETTY)
Real Madrid are poised to sign Jude Bellingham in the summer which would see leave Liverpool miss out on their No 1 transfer target. The England international is said to have already told his entourage he wants to move to the Bernabeu instead of Anfield next summer. So who could Liverpool turn to if they cannot land the £100million-plus-rated teenager? Express Sport takes a look at four possible Plan B options.
Enzo Fernandez
The top candidate would be Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez, whose reputation has exploded after his World Cup. The Benfica midfielder has long been tracked by the Reds and he underlined his sky-high potential in Qatar.
The lively Fernandez, 21, was named the World Cup’s best young player as the South Americans won the tournament. The ex-River Plate talent only joined Benfica in the summer and has a huge £105m release clause in his contract.
Liverpool’s biggest issue, however, will be the level of competition for him. Chelsea are showing interest in signing him in January, with a winter move from the Merseyside club highly unlikely after the signing of Cody Gakpo, while Real Madrid and Manchester United are both being linked with a summer swoop.
Liverpool have four Plan B options after Jude Bellingham ‘snubs Reds for Real Madrid move’ (Image: GETTY)
Manu Kone
A far rawer talent than Bellingham and Fernandez, but another player with an immense ceiling, is Emmanuel Kouadio Kone – who goes as Manu Kone – of Borussia Monchengladbach. The 21-year-old is part of a new generation of French talent.
Kone, 21, is a guaranteed starter for Gladbach who are fighting for European football. But the lure of Liverpool could tempt him away from the Bundesliga and Jurgen Klopp and co. Were claimed to have interest in the summer, per reports from Germany.
Cash-rich Newcastle are also admirers of the box-to-box midfielder and so, if a move is to wait until the end of the season, much may hinge on where Liverpool finish. It has previously been suggested Kone would cost £39m.
Moises Caicedo
Ecuador international Caicedo has been excellent for Brighton this season and is another player who has been on Liverpool’s radar for a while. He joined the Seagulls in January 2021 and is now fully displaying his talents in England’s top flight.
Caicedo has made 15 appearances this season for Brighton and has been pivotal to the south coast club sitting seventh after 15 games. He is under contract until 2025 and so Brighton are free to demand whatever fee they like.
Again however, like Fernandez and Bellingham, Caicedo is very much a player in demand. Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle are all potential suitors for the 21-year-old who could cost £50m or more just two years after he joined Brighton for £5m.
Sofyan Amrabat
Another who starred at the World Cup, Sofyan Amrabat was sensational for Morocco who ended up finishing fourth in Qatar. The energetic 26-year-old is the oldest player on this shortlist.
He is also perhaps the most attainable but probably carries the most risk given his middling form for Fiorentina at club level. The Italian club have attached a £35m price tag to the player.
The Moroccan has just 18 months left on his contract and so could perhaps be snared for slightly less than that amount. PSG and Tottenham are two other teams linked with the dynamic Amrabat.
SOURCE: express.co.uk
