By now, the script has become all too familiar for Borussia Dortmund and their seemingly endless conveyor belt of rising superstars.
Jadon Sancho was the first of a new generation to ignite his career at the Westfalenstadion and later move to one of the Premier League's powerhouses when Manchester United sanctioned a £73m deal for the 23-year-old in July 2021.
His one-time Borussia Dortmund team-mate Erling Haaland would follow the same path less than 12 months later but instead settling on a move to the Etihad instead of Manchester City's bitter rivals at Old Trafford.
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Jude Bellingham seemed primed to join his former Dortmund team-mates in the same region of English football this summer, with Liverpool believed to have been well-placed to rival both Manchester City and Real Madrid, albeit not financially, in the highly-anticipated pursuit of the England international's signature.
On Tuesday night, however, such hopes were dashed when Anfield officials and Jurgen Klopp took the collective decision to press ahead with other targets that have been drawn up in the boardroom over the course of the last 12 months.
The decision comes after Borussia Dortmund refused to waver in their valuation of Bellingham, which the ECHO understands to currently sit at £130m. Agent fees and the player's salary would also make the overall outlay even higher and perhaps explain why any potential deal has been swiftly placed on the shelf for the time being.
Such a stance means Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund are now locked in a multi-million-pound game of cat and mouse. Who, if any, blinks first over the next four months remains to be seen.
For the Germans, though, who hold a renowned reputation as one of the continent's most savvy traders, such shenanigans from Merseyside will fail to intimidate. The Black and Yellows have proved in negotiating departures for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ousmane Dembele, Sancho and Haaland that they will never be forced into submission when it comes to parting ways with their big stars.
While trophies at the Westfalenstadion have dried up over the last decade as Bayern Munich's dominance in the Bundesliga has soared to new heights with 10 successive top-flight titles, Borussia Dortmund's position as the division's overachievers is underlined by their amassing of over €1bn in player sales since the start of the millennium.
Jens Lehmann, Tomas Rosicky, Shinji Kagawa, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang and Christian Pulisic are all, along with Haaland and Sancho, players who have exited the Bundesliga outfit in favour of a move to English shores since the year 2000.
While it seems that Bellingham will have to wait a little longer if he is to join his Dortmund predecessors and achieve a move to the Premier League. From a Liverpool standpoint though the past would suggest Dortmund won't wilt in their stance between now and the start of September.
Take the summer of 2020 for example. Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskaer had been desperate to swoop for former Manchester City prodigy Sancho and bring the Englishman to Old Trafford. United's interest in the winger had, at that point, similar to Bellingham, evolved into arguably the worst-kept secret in the European game despite Solskjaer stretching to keep his cards close to his chest and exhibit a nonchalant poker face.
As negotiations around Sancho's impending arrival at Old Trafford appeared to reach an impasse and looked set to derail both Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund's start to their respective domestic campaigns, the Bundesliga side set a firm deadline of August 10 for United and their pursuit.
At the time, Sancho, parallel to Bellingham, had two years left on his deal at Westfalenstadion and therefore the five-time Bundesliga champions had stood firm in their valuation of the forward, for whom they demanded a fee in the excess of £90m for. Officials at the 20-time Premier League winners, however, had been reluctant to commit to a deal in excess of £70m.
While the first week of August 2020 would see the Guardian report that the two clubs had entered advanced talks over a probable £90m arrangement for the winger's signature, United would eventually be left to rue their hesitant approach as they embarked on the 2020/21 season without the England international in their ranks.
Sneering at the lowball approach from the Solskjaer's side, Dortmund settled against bending to United's feeble valuation of Sancho and instead deemed it more beneficial to keep the forward on their books until the end of the 2020/21 season.
Despite the obvious disappointment of missing out on a mega-money return to the Premier League, Sancho would allow his football to do the talking for one final season in the North Rhine and claim an extraordinary 16 goals and 20 assists in 38 appearances across all competitions.
Such impressive numbers would see United make a second swoop for the winger in the summer of 2021, less than 12 months after their dire round of opening negotiations. In the end, Dortmund would add £73m to their sales total as Sancho and Dortmund ended their four-year association and the winger made what he described as a "dream" move to Old Trafford in July of 2021.
But why is Sancho's belated move to Manchester United relevant in Liverpool's shared pursuit of Bellingham?
Well, in the hours since the news of the Reds' change of direction came to light, supporters have speculated whether the word from Anfield is part of a bigger ploy to ultimately lure the Bundesliga side into lowering their asking price for Bellingham. Of course, deals for both Thiago Alcantara and Alisson Becker, who were at times expected to stay at both Bayern Munich and AS Roma, have both been referenced.
In the case of the Brazilian shot-stopper, who would briefly become the world's most expensive goalkeeper when he made the move to Anfield for £67m in the summer of 2018, the Italian outfit would open the door for the Reds to swoop after lowering their previous £90m and £75m valuations of the Brazilian.
At the time, Liverpool were adamant they would not have surrendered to such a valuation. Meanwhile, in the saga of Thiago, club officials insisted a deal for the Spaniard had only come to light once he had become an "active target". Liverpool later swiftly agreed on a £25m fee with Bayern Munich for the midfielder.
Heading into the summer it means Liverpool must quickly attend to their own self-inflicted wounds and urgently strike a balance of both quality and quantity in the midfield ranks with additions of players with Premier League and Champions League pedigree.
While names such as Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher and Matheus Nunes have all been mentioned as combined alternatives, if Liverpool are serious about deviating away from their Bellingham-centric plans then only a series of household names will see those with the key decision-making powers at Anfield to avoid the wrath of supporters.
In a best-case scenario for the Reds, which is not beyond the realms of possibility given how pretty Dortmund are sitting in the Bundesliga and European standings, Bellingham could follow the blueprint of Sancho and stay put in Germany for another year until his seemingly preferred suitors are less restricted in the market.
Indeed, reports in Germany have for several months suggested that Dortmund are willing to make Bellingham the highest-paid player in their history - and even insert a release clause into his contract - in order for him to stay another season at the club.
Such a situation would allow the midfielder's price to diminish and, if Klopp was able to negotiate a swift return to the Champions League, possibly allow the Reds to reignite their interest in Bellingham in the summer of 2024 after the extensive overhaul of the midfield has already been assessed.
Though regardless of the conclusion Bellingham reaches for his own future in the coming days, weeks and months, one thing that is for sure is that Liverpool cannot afford to stand still this summer with or without Bellingham's signature.
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