Real Madrid considered move for Liverpool star before signing Jude Bellingham | OneFootball

The powers that be at Real Madrid earmarked a headline member of the attacking ranks at Premier League giants Liverpool as a leading target last summer.

That’s according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, who has this evening provided a fresh insight into developments behind the scenes in Spain’s capital.

The headline arrival at Real Madrid in the summer of 2023, of course, came in the form of Jude Bellingham.

The England international linked up with Carlo Ancelotti’s troops from German giants Borussia Dortmund, since going on to enjoy a historic start to life in Blancos colours.

All told, in 29 appearances across all competitions to date, Bellingham has racked up a staggering 28 direct goal contributions.

And yet, had the transfer team at the Santiago Bernabéu opted for another strategy to have been taken into consideration last summer, they may well have deprived themselves of one of world football’s standout performers.

This comes amid confirmation that, ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, Real also gave serious consideration to a move for Liverpool star Darwin Núñez.

On the lookout for a big-name signing, and not yet assured of a future deal for Kylian Mbappé, Florentino Pérez and co. considered utilising their summer budget on the centre-forward spot.

And Núñez was identified as a leading target.

In fact, Los Merengues went as far as to make contact with their counterparts at Liverpool, to gain an understanding of the financial requirements involved in a potential deal.

The move, in turn, was discussed internally by both the Urguayan international, and Liverpool board.

In the end, though, Jürgen Klopp directly intervened, shutting the door on Núñez’s exit.

And so, it was Jude Bellingham who made his way to Spain’s capital…

Conor Laird | GSFN