Jude Bellingham's performances at the World Cup have only served to back up the claims that he is truly a generational talent.
The 19-year-old has been tipped to enter the world class bracket for some time now, his time in Germany with Borussia Dortmund having helped him flourish and take his game to the next level, getting regular game time on stages like the Champions League. It is a path that many have followed with great success, notably the likes of Manchester City's Erling Haaland.
Unlike Haaland, though, Bellingham has had the biggest platform that world football can offer these past two weeks, the midfielder the shining star of England's campaign in Qatar so far, his latest stellar performance arriving as he proved to be the driving force for England to punch their ticket to the last eight with what ended up being a comfortable 3-0 success over Senegal at the Al Bayt Stadium.
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His performances, especially alongside Jordan Henderson, have only served to give more weight to the argument that he is a player that Liverpool must strive to sign having coveted his services for a number of years. With the Reds having a problem with an ageing midfield that is in need of investment, the signing of a world class talent like Bellingham, still a teenager, and with him having such longevity ahead and already showing himself capable of being a game changer at the highest level, seems something of a no brainer.
The issue, of course, lies in the kind of sums that it would take to bring Bellingham to Anfield, and also the level of competition that will be in the market for his signature.
He has a deal at Dortmund until 2025 but there is an acceptance that he will seek to ply his trade away from the Bundesliga, which has given him a tremendous platform to grow, from next season and a move to either the Premier League or La Liga seems likely.
Liverpool have been linked for a long time. There are friendships, such as Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, that exist with the Stourbridge-born teen, while there are links to his present and his potential future, with Jurgen Klopp's tenure at Dortmund meaning there would likely be smoother transition as to the style of play and where Bellingham would fit in.
The problem is the price. Real Madrid are ready to flex their muscles again and club president Florentino Perez, a man who was able to get the main gig at the Spanish giants in 2000 by engineering one of the most controversial transfers in European history with the signing of Luis Figo from rivals Barcelona, won't be unduly worried about competition in the market.
Chelsea and Manchester City have both been linked, both of them willing spenders in the market, with City offering the potential of a Haaland/Bellingham reunion at the Etihad Stadium.
For some time now analysts at the CIES Football Observatory in Switzerland have analysed the potential market value of Bellingham, using a variety of variables including his current form, age and length of contract. At the end of October Bellingham's value, according to CIES, was pegged at around €180m (£155m). Fast forward to the present and that potential value now reads up to €250m (£215m).
It seems highly unlikely that sums of £200m-plus for Bellingham will be in play, but there is fair reason to assume that north of £125m will be required to engineer a move for the England man. With Dortmund sitting sixth in the Bundesliga and wanting to keep hold of their star man to aid their bid for lucrative Champions League qualification there will be next to no appetite for Dortmund to sell in January, not unless they receive a crazy bid from a side that wants to jump the undoubted rush that will occur for his services in the summer. His value likely won't be negatively impacted, although the impression he has made at this World Cup may mean that there is never a better time to sell, although major January business is something or a rarity across European football.
For Liverpool the assessment of a transfer market valuation of '€250m' means that Bellingham will be a player whose services will spark something of an auction, and given the way that Liverpool's recruitment policy has been shaped over recent years, where value is found in the undervalued, it would be a major heel turn.
But Bellingham, despite the huge sum that it would take to land him, offers something that so few major players can; major longevity.
At 19 there will likely, provided injury doesn't curtail his progress, be more than a decade of him operating at an elite level. He is already operating at a world class level, there won't be a need for a period of patience as he grows into a gem, he already is one that looks like he is only going to become more polished.
Say, for arguments sake, he anchors the Liverpool midfield for 10 years. A decade of him would cost £13m per year at a £130m valuation, although amortised costs for his services on what would likely be a six-year deal would come out at £21.7m per year on the balance sheet. That is, though, a sum that can be reduced for accounting purposes by offering another long deal a year or two into his first contract at Anfield. Add in wages of, likely, £200,000 plus per week and that is another £10.4m per year. These are sums that are big but also ones that can be comfortably met if the Reds stayed competitive in Europe year after year, something that Bellingham would aid significantly.
The problem is that money often talks, and there are some clubs who will likely be willing to talk louder than the Reds. At a time when Fenway Sports Group are considering their own long-term position at the club, does adding an expensive asset such as Bellingham help or hinder their prospects of getting the kind of price that they would have envisaged, or does he become something of the beachhead for a change of step for the Reds owners and have his arrival aided by the sale of a minority share in the club that frees up capital?
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