Liverpool dealt blow with Jude Bellingham reportedly set to choose Real Madrid

Jude Bellingham is set to reject a return to the Premier League with Liverpool next summer, in order to make a move to Real Madrid.

In the summer transfer window, Jurgen Klopp admitted late in the day that he'd got it wrong and that Liverpool were in need of another midfielder.

Prior to that it was reported that the Premier League runners up would be waiting till next year in order to get their number one priority for the middle of the park.

Following their tough start to the season, and in particular the loss to Manchester United, Klopp decided he needed to bolster that area of the pitch, and signed Arthur Melo from Juventus.

Klopp brought Arthur in this summer. Image: Alamy

Despite that addition, Bellingham remains their number one target for next summer, although they aren't the only English side who want to bring him back to these shores.

However, they're all set to be disappointed, according to Spanish outlet Marca, with their report claiming that the Bernabeu is the player's preferred destination.

They claim that Real looked into signing him back in the summer but were wary of the amount they'd already be spending on Kylian Mbappe.

Los Blancos were also on the cusp of signing Aurelien Tchouameni, and did eventually purchase the midfielder, so weren't in a rush for Bellingham.

Bellingham is already a star at 19. Image: Alamy

Borussia Dortmund's policy does tend to be only to sell one big name each year, and they'd already sold Erling Haaland, so a move was always unlikely.

The report does say that that Florentino Perez's team have asked the 19-year-old not to sign a new deal in Germany, which he so far hasn't done.

As well as Tchouameni, Carlo Ancelotti's side look absolutely stacked in midfielder, with Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Federico Valverde, Dani Ceballos, Eduardo Camavinga and Lucas Vazquez all available to the manager.

However, Modric, Kroos and Ceballos' contracts all expire at the end of the season, with no decision whether the former pair will extend or not.

Real building a midfield of Tchouameni, Camavinga and Bellingham could be their central trio for years to come, in the way Modric, Kroos and Casemiro has been in recent years, winning four Champions League titles together.