Liverpool have, on the face of it, pulled out of the race to sign Jude Bellingham, but a look at their past transfer dealings suggests the pursuit may not be over.
Bellingham had long been thought to be the Reds' top target for the summer transfer window. But with no release clause in his contract at Borussia Dortmund, it is set to take a fee in excess of £100million to sign him.
The midfielder has starred in Germany, becoming one of Dortmund's vice-captains and claiming a starting spot in the England team. But his impressive performances have seen his value sky-rocket to a value Liverpool cannot stomach.
The Reds are set for a major rebuild in the summer and will now use the money they would have spent on Bellingham to improve several other areas of their squad. Cheaper alternatives will now be sought in what is a bitter blow to Jurgen Klopp.
This is not the first time Liverpool have backed away from a transfer target sighting a fee that is too high to pay. The first incident came in the summer of 2017, when they pulled out of the race to sign Virgil van Dijk.
That came amid allegations of tapping up, though Southampton were also standing firm in their valuation of the defender. Liverpool went as far as to put a statement on their website announcing Van Dijk would no longer be pursued.
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“Liverpool Football Club would like to put on record our regret over recent media speculation regarding Southampton Football Club and player transfers between the two clubs,” the statement read.
“We apologise to the owner, board of directors and fans of Southampton for any misunderstanding regarding Virgil van Dijk. We respect Southampton’s position and can confirm we have ended any interest in the player.”
Six months later, and the Dutchman had arrived at Anfield in a £75m deal, a world record fee for a defender. Closer to Bellingham's story is the ultimately successful pursuit of current first-choice keeper Alisson.
Back in February 2018, reports emerged suggesting that Liverpool had shelved their interest in the Brazilian. It was suggested that the Reds would instead put their faith in Loris Karius, with Chelsea and Real Madrid providing strong competition to sign Alisson.
Roma were also planning to inflate his price tag after having lost Mohamed Salah on the cheap the previous summer. Like Van Dijk, six months later, Alisson was a Liverpool player, with the Reds paying out a world record fee to bring him to Anfield.
The Bellingham situation is obviously much different to that of Van Dijk's and Alisson. Liverpool are increasingly likely to miss out on European football all together next season and appear a far distance from challenging for trophies again.
While Klopp will still be a big pulling factor, their nosedive in form means they are not as attractive as they once were. The squad is also in dire need of a rebuild, which means that buying a collection of players rather than making one marquee signing would be a better decision.
