Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham is being consistently linked with a move to Liverpool next season.
Bellingham's impressive form at Dortmund has reportedly alerted many of Europe's top clubs ahead of the summer transfer window, with the 18-year-old having an impressive individual season. Liverpool have been linked with Bellingham for months, and the former Birmingham City midfielder has previously expressed his admiration for Liverpool captains past and present, including Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson.
More recently, Bellingham has been tipped to move to the Premier League by Gareth Southgate, with the England boss claiming the 18-year-old can only go so far at Dortmund. Southgate made these comments prior to Bellingham earning his 12th cap for England against Ivory Coast.
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"The league is definitely a brilliant league for young players and coaches to develop but of course, the standard of the Premier League is undoubtedly higher, I think we see that in the European competitions,” the England manager said. Along with the Reds, Bellingham has been linked with a move to Manchester United, with Liverpool's rivals having failed to sign the midfielder from Birmingham in the past.
So, if Bellingham was to choose a move to Liverpool next season, what sort of impact could he have on Jurgen Klopp's side? We simulated next season with the 18-year-old as a Liverpool player, and this is what happened.
We 'signed' Jude Bellingham for Liverpool in July 2022
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Bellingham to join the Reds at the start of the summer 2022 transfer window, using FM22 to run the simulation. This is how his in-game profile looks on FM22 in July, 2022.
Described by FM22 as a driven wonderkid, Bellingham has a well-rounded profile on FM22 for a central midfielder, with all of his attributes rated highly. His best attributes are his bravery (18), determination (18) and work rate (17), with his mental and physical attributes his strongest areas.
Let's take a look at how Bellingham performed throughout the 2022/23 season after signing for the Reds in the summer. The 18-year-old slotted straight into the Liverpool midfield as he became a regular under Klopp, making 44 appearances across four different competitions.
Only one of his 44 appearances came from the bench as the England midfielder became crucial to Klopp's set-up, and in those 44 appearances, Bellingham scored eight goals and registered five assists.
Out of his 13 goals contributions, 10 of them came in the Premier League where he grabbed five goals and five assists in 33 games. He also averaged a rating of 7.32 per game in the league, making his average in all competitions 7.29.
His average rating was the fourth-best in the Liverpool squad, only behind Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota, the three top scorers at the club. Bellingham's eight goals made him the joint-fourth top scorer for the Reds with Roberto Firmino.
Along with Bellingham, Paulo Dybala arrived on a free transfer after his contract expired at Juventus. On paper, the deal seemed great, but a mixture of injuries and struggling to adapt to the league saw the Argentine make just 17 appearances in his first season.
Jota ended the season on 24 goals and as Liverpool's top scorer, grabbing one more goal than Salah who had the best average rating for the Reds in the simulation. Luis Diaz was used more off the bench than from the start, and the Colombian grabbed seven goals in his first full season at the club.
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best Liverpool XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what the Reds' best XI looked like at the end of the 2022/23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full Liverpool best XI (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Bellingham, Fabinho, Henderson; Salah, Jota, Mane.
Bellingham made it into the Liverpool best XI, taking the place of Thiago in the midfield. He was joined in the middle three by Henderson and Fabinho, whilst fellow new signing Paulo Dybala failed to make the best XI after an injury-ridden season.
Roberto Firmino and Luis Diaz also missed out on the best XI, with Salah, Jota and Mane making up the front three. So, how did Klopp's side perform in the league and cup competitions after signing Bellingham in the summer transfer window?
Liverpool's results from the 2022/23 simulation
The Reds accumulated 89 points in the 2022/23 season as they lost just three games all season, but another brilliant campaign from Manchester City saw Klopp's side finish second in the Premier League. Despite losing just three games, the Reds also drew eight, meaning they finished seven points behind City on 96.
There was then a 16 point gap between Liverpool and Manchester United in third, showing the gulf in quality between the top two and the rest of the league. The Reds ended the season as the league's top scorers (77), whilst they conceded the second-fewest (28) behind Man City (17).
Liverpool had a fantastic season in the cup competitions, reaching three finals and winning two trophies in the simulation. Their one defeat came in the Carabao Cup final, with Chelsea getting revenge for Liverpool's win this season as they won 1-0.
A 4-0 thumping of Burnley saw Liverpool win the FA Cup, with a Salah brace along with goals from Diaz and Jordan Henderson handing the Reds victory over 10-men. The biggest win was the UEFA Champions League though, where second-half goals from Salah and Jota saw Liverpool beat Real Madrid 2-0 in the final.
Overall, Football Manager 2022 predicts that if Bellingham were to sign for Liverpool in the summer, the midfielder could have a great individual season, becoming a regular in Klopp's starting XI. His impact in the simulation saw Liverpool win two trophies including the Champions League and come close to two others, improving what is already a fantastic Liverpool side.
Would you like to see Jude Bellingham sign for Liverpool ? Let us know in the comments!
