Dortmund have favourite team for Bellingham: no VARdrid, no City

With December still in December and more than six months to go before Jude Bellingham is almost certain to leave Borussia Dortmund, the German side are already assuming that retaining him will be a more than difficult task and that they have no choice but to sell him to a club that will make a good offer and for whom they are in good terms. As of today, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City, and until this week Chelsea, who seem to have decided to step aside to sign Declan Rice, are the teams that have shown most interest in the English midfielder, but of all of them, the German side have a favourite.

Carsten Cramer, Borussia Dortmund's technical coordinator, said in an interview with the Daily Express that of all the teams currently bidding for Jude Bellingham, his favourite is Liverpool: "For sure we have a lot of sympathy for Liverpool. We still have a good relationship with Jürgen and many others at Liverpool, so for me, they are also my favourite club in the Premier League, but don't expect us to give Liverpool gifts," he said.

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One more argument in Liverpool's favour that takes Real Madrid and Manchester City out of the race for the player. The clubs are aware that getting hold of Jude Bellingham will be an uphill task and that if they fail to land him they will have to have a plan B in place. The team that is currently working hardest on this aspect is Liverpool, because, as we have reported in Don Balon, if the Borussia Dortmund player does not arrive, Declan Rice and Sofyan Amrabat are the second option to reinforce Jürgen Klopp's midfield.

The German coach has been calling for midfield reinforcements for some time now. Jürgen Klopp kept asking the English board for midfield reinforcements last summer and in the end, at the last minute, they ended up bringing Arthur to Anfield, but in addition to arriving in poor form and not giving the desired performance, he was injured in October for three months.

Dortmund prefer Liverpool

Jude Bellingham has become a priority for Liverpool, their own players know it and both Henderson and Arnold are trying to convince him at the World Cup in Qatar while they are on England duty. At the moment, the balance is slowly tipping in favour of Jürgen Klopp's side, but between now and June, everything can change in an instant.