Virgil van Dijk praise, Joel Matip appreciation and Jordan Henderson admiration – Everything Jude Bellingham said about Liverpool ahead of potential summer transfer

Liverpool are desperate to sign Jude Bellingham this year, but is the Borussia Dortmund midfielder keen on a move there?

The England international is hot property this season after another stellar year in Germany as his stock rose at the World Cup.

The 19-year-old was one of the star performers at the tournament and it has led to intense speculation over his future at Signal Iduna Park.

Liverpool are long-time admirers of Bellingham, but they are not the only ones interested.

Some European elites have the teenager on their radar, including Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

As Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea are desperate to land the former Birmingham star.

However, with Liverpool clamoring for someone to energize their midfield, the Reds will do all they can to persuade him to move to Anfield – including Steven Gerrard who cooks an impromptu dinner party.

But what did Bellingham say about Liverpool? And is there a chance they can win the race?

What Bellingham said about a possible transfer

The midfielder was understandably cautious about talking about any transfer talk, let alone anything relating to Liverpool, but that didn’t stop a reporter from trying to provoke a reaction at the World Cup.

Reds captain Jordan Henderson stood by Bellingham during an interview where he praised him profusely, saying: “I’ve said it many times. It is unique.

“We have to let him enjoy playing football, he’s only 19.

“He was amazing at this tournament but [also] for a long time now with Dortmund.

“He’s continued it in this tournament and hopefully he can continue to get stronger and be a great player for England.”

The reporter went on to ask: “What about Liverpool in the future?” hoping to elicit a reaction – and they got one as Henderson stopped, laughed and then walked away.

Bellingham stepped out with the 32-year-old and could be heard saying: “You’ve ruined everything for all of us! You ruined it, man.

It’s hardly a clue as to what the England international has in store for the future, but Liverpool fans will appreciate the developing relationship between him and Henderson.

Jordan Henderson

In a separate interview in Qatar, Bellingham hailed Henderson’s leadership qualities following England’s round of 16 win over Senegal.

He remarked: “He’s still kind of the loudest player on the pitch, which I love. You always know you’re in a game.

“He doesn’t let you turn off for a second, and I think the best thing about him is that he’ll give you a bit of detail to help you out, maybe after you’ve done something negative.

“But he’s the first person if you’ve done something positive to let you know.

“His performance [against Senegal] was unbelievable. Ran the game, scored a key goal and it was a pleasure to play with him again.

Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip

Bellingham has become Dortmund’s first player to be named in FIFA’s Team of the Year and the club’s in-house media service has asked him to select his own XI.

This included players from Liverpool, as well as Real Madrid, but the teenager was full of praise for Van Dijk and Matip where he also admitted he was watching the Reds closely.

“[Joel] Matip had a really good year actually, I think he was good to watch,” he said.

“But I think [Virgil] Van Dijk, always, man. He is too good. I would place him and I would probably put Eder Militao next to him – he won the Champions League.

However, there was no room for Trent Alexander-Arnold, although he had a good reason for that.

He added: “I don’t choose between English guys, I’ll go with it. [Achraf] Hakimi, because I don’t choose between Trent [Alexander-Arnold]Walks [Kyle Walker] and Reece [James].

“Those three are the best three but I don’t choose between them so I’m going to choose Hakimi because he was amazing at the World Cup and I won’t get killed for choosing him you see what I mean ?

Autograph signing of Trent Alexander-Arnold

Bellingham may be in the spotlight, but that didn’t stop him from seeing the fun side of things, especially when a fan took a chance on getting an autograph.

As the Dortmund star met fans to sign autographs after a training session, a supporter cheekily handed him an Alexander-Arnold book which the midfielder couldn’t help but laugh at.

He signed the book with a smile on his face as a clip of the incident went viral on social media.

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