Chelsea broke the record fee paid by a British club in January when they signed Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for around £107m. The Athletic claims there is significant doubt that the Liverpool owners FSG would be able to afford such a fee.

Liverpool legend Phil Thompson told Express Sport at Christmas that Bellingham should not purely follow the cash when deciding his next move, also comparing the situation to Van Dijk's move five years ago.

However, Dortmund would unlikely accept a reduced fee just to accommodate the player's wishes if he wanted to join Liverpool.

Want the latest Premier League news as we publish it on Express Sport? Join our new Facebook group by clicking here