Jurgen Klopp has laughed off Liverpool's chances of signing Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham in January. The Reds have their own midfield crisis while Chelsea are also in the hunt for key additions in the centre of the park with 2023 posing as a major revamp opportunity.
Both Jorginho and N'Golo Kante are out of contract in the summer and no new permanent deal has been done for a midfielder since 2019 despite the youngest senior player being 28-year-old Mateo Kovacic in a double-pivot. Potter has already found issues with the depth in that area as Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek all need extra defensive support, whilst Kovacic needs another body around him and has struggled with fitness too.
With Declan Rice, Edson Alvarez and Bellingham all high on the shortlist it promises to be a make-or-break time, but securing a major signing in the winter is notoriously tough, and Klopp isn't kidding himself into thinking that the 19-year-old England superstar is already on his way to Anfield.
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Bellingham was one of Gareth Southgate's top performers at the World Cup and only increased the attention on himself and the desire of Europe's top clubs to sign him. With a host of the major teams all circling to get his signature, there is plenty of competition, but nothing will be done until this season is over.
When asked about the chances of getting Bellingham in January, Klopp couldn't keep a straight face. He said, "[Laughs] In January?, I'm the wrong person. Are you from the buying side or the selling side? I'm the wrong person to ask that, you'll have to ask other people about that."
Having signed Arthur Melo on loan Liverpool only papered over their own cracks in the summer but that was made worse by a lengthy injury to the Brazilian. Meanwhile, Naby Keita is yet to show why he was worth more than £50m, Thiago Alcantara isn't a physical presence, Jordan Henderson is ageing and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is out of contract and seemingly surplus to requirements.
It all means that Chelsea and Liverpool are effectively fishing in the same pond. That became even more evident when reports in Portugal suggested that a €100m (£87.9m) was rejected by Benfica for Argentina World Cup star Enzo Fernandez. He is another player that both Liverpool and Chelsea are looking add to revitalise their midfield, but Diario Record write that the bid wasn't from Klopp's side.
"January in our situation is, we always say in this moment because it's true, from the sports side we are always prepared, that's how it is," Klopp explained. "It's always clear what kind of ideas we have and how the necessity is from our point of view and that's clear but all the rest doesn't lie 100% in our hands and that's how we have to work.
"We always work with what we've got and that won't change. You can imagine the situation that we are in that we're probably looking, if something happens, you will see."
Chelsea themselves are desperate to add at least one body in the next month but will find it extremely tough to prize away any of their top targets, meanwhile, Liverpool are sure to be snapping around at the same time.
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