Liverpool’s summer transfer plans will likely be scuppered by failure to qualify for the Champions League next season, CBS reporter Ben Jacobs revealed to GIVEMESPORT.
Jürgen Klopp’s side crashed out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage in midweek, with all attentions now switching towards the Premier League top-four race.
Liverpool transfer news
Surrendering any hopes of a seventh Champions League title, in the same city they’d won their sixth just four years earlier, Liverpool limped out of the competition with a 6-2 aggregate defeat against reigning winners Real Madrid.
It’s the third consecutive season Liverpool’s exit from the Champions League has come at the hands of Los Blancos, who continue to be an impassable opponent for Klopp’s side.
In fact, of the six campaigns Klopp has taken charge of Liverpool in the Champions League, Liverpool have been knocked out by Real Madrid in four of them.
The same old story for the Reds against Real Madrid, attention for the remainder of the campaign has already switched towards securing a Champions League spot for next season.
Currently in sixth position, six points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, but with a game in hand, the good news for Liverpool is they’re firmly in the race for the top four.
The bad news, as the Reds faithful have been made all too aware this season, is that inconsistency continues to plague Liverpool’s chances of a successful campaign.
Having blitzed rivals Manchester United 7-0 the week prior, Klopp’s side suffered an embarrassing defeat to strugglers Bournemouth last weekend, illustrating how hard it has been to stitch a run of results together.
What has Ben Jacobs said about Liverpool’s summer plans?
Of course, how much Liverpool can spend in the summer transfer window is directly impacted by their league finish, with CBS reporter Jacobs revealing the Reds’ budget would take a big beating if they were to miss out on Champions League football.
On any potential budget cuts, Jacobs told GIVEMESPORT: “But Liverpool this summer window, much like Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, their budget will be in part defined by whether or not they get Champions League football.
“And in the absence of Champions League football, any club’s budget will go down.”
What does that mean for Liverpool’s pursuit of Jude Bellingham?
It’s no secret Liverpool have earmarked Jude Bellingham as their number-one summer target.
A report in The Athletic suggests Liverpool will look to centre their midfield rebuild around the starlet, but also recognises they might be priced out of a move, should Champions League football fail to materialise.
The report suggests Dortmund have set their stall at a figure around £130 million for Bellingham – a fee that would smash the British record transfer fee paid by Chelsea for Enzo Fernandez in January.
What’s more, from a footballing point of view itself, even if Liverpool could stump up the cash for Bellingham, it’s unlikely the player would wish to move to a side competing outside of Europe’s premier club competition anyway.
