Jude Bellingham continues to be tugged every which way as the January transfer window rumbles on.

Borussia Dortmund know they’ll have their star man at least until the summer, at which point all hell may very well break loose as European royalty in the form of Liverpool and Real Madrid will compete with financial giants Manchester City for the teenager’s signature.

With so much noise being made by the media, we at Empire of the Kop spoke to ESPN journalist Jan Åge Fjørtoft for some insight into the Englishman’s potential decision-making process ahead of the end of the season.

💭 Where will Jude Bellingham go this summer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Whilst our current topsy-turvy form won’t be doing our recruitment team any favours down the line, few could argue with the fact that Liverpool remains the ideal destination for any player looking to reach the very height of their potential.

Could Jürgen Klopp prove the difference? Only time will tell…

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With the World Cup fast coming to a close, Premier League fans will be drawing a collective sigh of relief as the domestic season nears.

There’s no question that the time away from the English top-flight has been mostly good for Liverpool - Luis Diaz’s latest injury setback aside - allowing key men to return from injury, not to mention time for Jürgen Klopp and his coaching staff to regroup and mull over solutions for the second-half of the campaign.

One such solution will be the January transfer window and, as expected, the Reds have already been linked with a vast swathe of names.

One fresh option - to fans at least - that could be explored is that of Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat, who most football supporters will be aware of through the Qatar-based World Cup where he has thrived for the Moroccan national side.

Curious about what the defensive midfielder, aged 26, could offer Liverpool going forward, we got in touch with Foot Mercato’s Anas Bakhkhar to get all the latest on the Serie A star’s strengths, our interest in him… and plenty more!

Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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Two podcasts in two days - two very special guests.

Aren’t you all so lucky!

After quite a while of radio silence on our front, of course, there’s no question that we owed each and every one of you some top-notch content as we approach the final run of the World Cup and the return of domestic action.

Following up on our chat with transfer expert Christian Falk - which you can view here (or in the link below) - who better to follow up with than The Anfield Wrap’s very own Neil Atkinson after the release of their stunning documentary ‘Jürgen’?

We talked all about the man himself Jürgen Klopp, Jude Bellingham, and brought back - *drum roll please* - THE PETE QUIZ!

If you’ve yet to catch ‘Part One: The Challenge’, fans can do so by following the link below and subscribing to The Anfield Wrap on YouTube:

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Will Jude Bellingham sign for Liverpool?

A question that has been on the lips of every Liverpool supporter for the last few months as speculation has raged on.

Christian Falk joined us in the latest instalment of the Empire of the Kop podcast to tell us all about his bombshell update on the Englishman’s future and the Reds’ chances of snapping him up in the summer.

We talked all about the 19-year-old’s family and what kind of impact they’ll have on the transfer, potential wages, and other possible deals the club could look to make.

There are no guarantees when it comes to the transfer market but there’s more than an element of hopeful expectation attached to the ongoing links between Liverpool Football Club and, perhaps, the globe’s brightest talent in Jude Bellingham.

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Liverpool may have a lot of work to do to revive their title hopes this term, though back-to-back 1-0 wins against Manchester City and West Ham mark a clear step in the right direction.

A third league win in a row against Nottingham Forest would likewise go some way in banishing concerns of the Reds going two steps forwards and a step back in a season defined by damaging inconsistency.

Among the spate of wins across Europe and England, Empire of the Kop discussed:

* The unreliability of officials in the English top-flight

* Jürgen Klopp’s comments being labelled ‘borderline xenophobic’

* Darwin Núñez coming to life for Liverpool

* AND MORE!

Following a formation change and a few tweaks to the manager’s favoured 4-3-3, the Reds looked to have finally turned a corner ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.

Four upcoming league fixtures represent a huge opportunity to break back into the heralded top four spots before the second-half of the season kicks in.

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Liverpool are BACK!

Or are they?

A positive performance from Jurgen Klopp’s men would have surely inspired a similar response from much of the fanbase and commentators, yet we have the likes of ex-Chelsea man Chris Sutton coming out telling us that a rude awakening lies in store for the Reds at the Emirates come Sunday.

The negativity is understandable to an extent given how topsy-turvy our form has been since the start of the season, though some seem to have already lost faith in the Premier League and Champions League-winning manager turning things around.

We suffered from a false dawn in the form of our 2-1 win over Ajax admittedly, though a change of formation and personnel appears to have inspired a significant improvement that looks capable of falling into the ever-coveted arms of consistency.

A 4-2-3-1 could herald the real start to Liverpool’s 2022/23 campaign - better sooner rather than later too given the points gap that now yawns between ourselves and the Gunners at the top of the summit.

We discussed all that and more:

* Darwin Nunez misfiring… should we be worried?

* Should Klopp change his system for the clash with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal?

* Can Arsenal win the league?

* AND MORE!

Before we’re quick to dismiss the idea of the Gunners securing league title glory this term, it’s worth thinking back to our own near miss in 2013/14 with a squad that was clearly lacking in depth though not quality within the starting-XI.

Keep up their form and avoid serious injuries and you’d be hard-pressed not to back the Londoners for a strong finish to the season at the very least if not the biggest prize of them all in England.

For Liverpool, we won’t be thinking quite so big just yet, but a trip to North London does represent our biggest challenge yet and the start of a potentially blissful chapter (the first yet).

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Another day, another podcast (partly) discussing Jude Bellingham.

The Englishman has been the subject of ongoing speculation amid serious interest from… well... ALL of Europe.

There have been suggestions that Liverpool could utilise Naby Keita’s contract situation and Borussia Dortmund’s alleged interest in the Guinean to their advantage in the interest of capturing Bellingham’s highly-coveted signature.

You can catch all the discussion on that and more:

* Should Liverpool be looking to get rid of Naby Keita?

* What is Gareth Southgate’s problem with Trent Alexander-Arnold?

* Errrr…. how many fixtures in October?

* AND MORE!

There’s a sense of renewed optimism at Liverpool ahead of a heavy impending fixture schedule that has generally inspired grim predictions.

The availability of Jordan Henderson amongst a multiplicity of other midfield options has alleviated concerns over the engine room and what it can offer for Jurgen Klopp’s men going forward.

It all kicks off with Brighton & Hove Albion’s visit to Anfield on Saturday and, hopefully, another three points for the hosts.

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Jude Bellingham will cost quite a pretty penny should an interested party fancy itself to prise the England international away from the Bundesliga in 2023.

Liverpool, no doubt, would very much like to be that club, though Borussia Dortmund will need one hell of a rack to keep track of all the hats tossed into the ring for the 19-year-old’s services in a year’s time.

You can catch all the discussion on that and more:

* Jude Bellingham costs HOW much?

* How will Liverpool perform after the international break?

* Was that a shot or a cross from Darwin Núñez on international duty?

* AND MORE!

Remarkably, a number of fans online feel the club will have already decided to quietly withdraw from the race for Bellingham’s signature despite years of speculation and many more that the midfielder spent on our books being admired.

Regardless, we simply can’t see Liverpool pulling out without at least attempting to negotiate given the calibre of the player under consideration.

When comparisons to the likes of Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes come about, it’s not a simple matter of just looking at the price and balking.

We have to think very carefully about what we want the future of our midfield to look like and what any potential hesitation in the next summer window might cost us.

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When dissecting Liverpool’s 4-1 defeat to Napoli in their opening Champions League game, it can be difficult to narrow down the discussion to a few salient points.

That’s due in no small part to the reality that the problems are many for the Merseysiders and the solutions are seemingly in short supply.

Here at Empire of the Kop, we were joined by the Liverpool Echo’s Keifer MacDonald to revisit the nightmare in Napoli and more:

* What’s going wrong for Liverpool at the moment?

* What do we need to change to get a positive result at Anfield?

* AND MORE!

Thiago Alcantara’s brief cameo does provide some cause for optimism ahead of a meeting with Bruno Lage’s men on Saturday, though we’ll need a far more committed performance to make up for the horror show fans were forced to sit through in Naples.

We hope you enjoyed this latest instalment of The Empire of the Kop Podcast! Tune in next week where we’ll hopefully be analysing two wins in a row against Wolves and Ajax respectively.

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“GET A SIGNING IN!” the baying crowd roared.

“BRING IN JUDE BELLINGHAM!” they shook their online pitchforks at Michael Edwards protégé, Julian Ward.

In a world where social media has become the dominant forum for football fans to shout their opinions down from the rooftops, it can be a difficult place for content producers to share their updates, let alone opinions, on Liverpool Football Club.

A lacklustre performance at Old Trafford has certainly done little to help matters as far as our transfer efforts are concerned.

Still, there is (and always should be) space for optimism (with a hint of realism) to thrive as the Empire of the Kop Podcast reviews the Champions League draw and more!

* Liverpool find out their group stage Champions League opponents!

* Do we need to make a signing after THAT Old Trafford defeat?

* Setting up for Bournemouth… Time to start Carvalho AND Elliott?

* AND MORE!

A home clash with Scott Parker’s newly-promoted outfit represents the perfect opportunity for Jurgen Klopp’s men to turn expectations around.

With a group Liverpool can feel confident about progressing from added on top, there’s plenty of reason for fans to be optimistic regardless of how we interact with the transfer window from here on out.

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