Jude Bellingham sends Liverpool transfer message with…

Jude Bellingham sends Liverpool transfer message with England masterclass in World Cup

So much for those Steven Gerrard comparisons being disrespectful.

Speaking ahead of England’s World Cup opener against Iran in Qatar on Monday, Jude Bellingham declared the Liverpool midfielder his idol for the national team when growing up while distancing himself from being likened to the Anfield great.

But it took Bellingham just 35 minutes to show the globe just why he is being likened to Gerrard - and why Liverpool and their supporters would very much like the 19-year-old to follow in his footsteps.

England had just started knocking on the door of the obdurate Iran defence when the ball was fed to Luke Shaw on the left. The Manchester United man then swung a cross into the penalty area which Bellingham, arriving from deep, met with an improvised header that looped high into the goal for the opener - his first international strike and the first teenager to score for England at a World Cup since Michael Owen in 1998.

If not quite having the same resonance, the strike was nevertheless rather reminiscent of Gerrard’s famous strike in the 2005 Champions League final. There were other such hints, not least the driving forward run that helped set Harry Kane away to cross for former Reds man Raheem Sterling to score England’s third.

Indeed, it’s easy to see why Jurgen Klopp is such a fan and would be willing to green-light a big-money move for Bellingham in the foreseeable future, the teenager superb from first minute to last with an energetic, productive and impressive midfield performance.

Of course, Liverpool aren’t the only team interested. Real Madrid have been strongly linked, while Chelsea and Manchester City have also been sniffing around. There will be others.

Borussia Dortmund, where Bellingham moved to in the summer of 2020, have already hinted they accept the player will be on the move sooner rather than later. And any more performances of this stature could persuade them to cash in as early as January. Liverpool’s recruitment team need to be on their toes.

But if Bellingham remains out of reach - and given some of the eye-watering sums bandied about, that wouldn’t be a complete surprise - there was another potential midfield option on show.

West Ham United skipper Declan Rice doesn’t possess quite the same attacking thrust, but his defensive discipline and eye for a pass would make him a long-term replacement for the likes of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson.

At 23, he has more international experience than Bellingham - even if he lacks Champions League football on his cv - and is similarly primed for a move on to a bigger club.

While assessment of their respective performances must be tempered by the fact they were up against an Iran side disrupted early on by the loss of their first-choice goalkeeper, this was an early statement of intent from the duo and the England team as a whole.

Going into the tournament on the back of a six-game winless run, this was the ideal confidence-booster ahead of tougher tests, their 6-2 triumph England’s best result in an opening World Cup finals match.

With Liverpool duo Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold among those players who remained on the bench at the Khalifa International Stadium - where Klopp’s side won the Club World Cup three years ago - not since 1986 have England started a World Cup without a contribution from an Anfield representative.

Reds fans, though, will be hoping there was a significant impact from at least one future Liverpool favourite. Bellingham and Rice will be the ones to keep an eye on over the next month.

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