Liverpool have “done all they can” to beat the competition to the signature of Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham, according to CBS Sports reporter Ben Jacobs.

The likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United are also thought to be in the mix for the 19-year-old but Jacobs says Jurgen Klopp’s side have done the “legwork” to put themselves in pole position. He told GiveMeSport:

“I do think that Liverpool are leading the race for Bellingham. They’re going to have competition, but I think that there’s a cautious optimism on the Liverpool front that, because they started earlier than most and because they have put in a lot of legwork and they’ve been very hands-on, they believe that they’ve done all they can at this point in the race to make progress and land Jude Bellingham. Then we’ll wait and see how other suitors move and how that affects the situation.”

You do get the feeling that securing Champions League football for next season is the key for Liverpool getting a deal across the line for Bellingham.

The 22-cap England international will want to be playing in Europe’s top competition and it would be hard to persuade him to make the switch to Anfield if the Reds don’t finish in the top four.

It means that, despite all of Liverpool’s hard work, the race for Bellingham is still open. We shall have to wait and see how things unfold over the coming months.