Revealed: Bellingham's father wants his superstar son to join Liverpool - sources
Jude Bellingham's father wants his superstar son to sign for Liverpool next year, sources have told Football Insider.
But the player himself has had his head turned by the strong interest from Man City and Real Madrid.
The latest on the battle to sign the world's most in-demand teenager comes as the January transfer window prepares to open.
Liverpool are in the market for a top-class midfielder in January and Jurgen Klopp made publicly sure of how highly he rates Bellingham with a resounding endorsement of his credentials last week.
However, a deal over the next month is seen as very unlikely, even though Dortmund are willing to sell their prize asset in the summer for a £120million-plus fee.
The three clubs leading the race for Bellingham are Liverpool, Man City and Real, with all working hard behind the scenes on convincing the midfielder to join them.
But a full agreement could not be secured at the time, even though Bellingham and his father Mark had been convinced at the time that a move to Merseyside was the ideal next step in his career.
In the end, the midfielder ended up staying at Borussia Dortmund and he has taken his performances to a new level this season for club and country.
That has further increased his price tag, as well as the interest in him, and means Liverpool face an even bigger battle to win the race for him next year.
Man City and Real Madrid are pushing hard, and that is believed to have turned the player's head.
However, his father - a former non-league goalscoring sensation who is Bellingham's closest advisor and far more influential than an agent or intermediary in guiding his son's career - is still of the mind that Liverpool are the best fit for his son.
Klopp had made it clear privately that Bellingham is the answer to the midfield problems that have plagued his ageing team this season.
That was apparent once again in Friday's 2-1 Premier League win over Leicester City with a disjointed midfield display once again highlighting the weaknesses in that area.
Fabinho missed the match due to personal reasons and a midfield of Thiago Alcantara, Harvey Elliott and Jordan Henderson, who especially had an off night, struggled to exert control.
Dortmund have failed to make progress in securing Bellingham to a contract extension, with his current deal expiring in the summer of 2025.
They are well aware of the strong interest in the player and are confident of a club-record sale with no release clause in his agreement.