By David Lynch, Merseyside Correspondent

31st Mar, 2023 | 10:30pm

'We will spend' - Jurgen Klopp responds to £100m+ Liverpool-Jude Bellingham question

Jurgen Klopp has refused to be drawn on whether Liverpool would be willing to spend over £100m to sign Jude Bellingham this summer.

The 19-year-old remains the Reds’ number one target ahead of a window in which they are expected to undertake an overdue midfield revamp.

But, with Real Madrid and Manchester City also interested in Bellingham and two years remaining on his Borussia Dortmund contract, they will need to smash their transfer record to secure his services.

Doubt has been cast on whether the club’s owners Fenway Sports Group would sanction such a large outlay on a single player, despite his potential to become a mainstay or the next decade at Anfield.

And, when asked about that possibility, Klopp could only guarantee that Liverpool will spend big in some capacity this summer.

“I will not answer the question because we never speak about these kind of things,” he said.

“We will spend in the summer, that’s what I can say definitely. The club will spend in the summer, definitely. For who and how many and stuff like this, there is nothing to say about, really.”

Liverpool are sure to need more than Bellingham as they look to bounce back from a season that is destined to end without a trophy and perhaps even Champions League qualification.

But Klopp insists he saw a rebuild coming after four successful campaigns in which the Reds collected every trophy available.

He added: “I am long enough in the business to know how these things develop.

“It’s clear after a specific amount of time that you need to shuffle things and kind of start anew. That is completely normal, it happens all the time, it’s just rare nowadays that it happens with the same manager because people realise when you sack a manager and bring in a new manager, things change and you readjust the squad.

“After seven years it was clear that we have to do it. Look, I don’t think in the last few years we ever were the best team in the league and we had to win – we were always performing to our level and sometimes punching above it.

“It is not that we win football games with 80%, there’s no chance, the boys had to give their absolute all and they did but it is clear there is a moment when you have to make changes.”

Meanwhile, exclusive news on next Liverpool director of football announcement.