Jude Bellingham Liverpool transfer shut down by Borussia Dortmund chief

Jude Bellingham's prospects of joining Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool appear to have taken a hit after Borussia Dortmund director Michael Zorc publicly came out to pour cold water on talk of a move to Anfield.

In the last week reports around Europe had started to link the England starlet with Liverpool, with many outlets carrying reports that Bellingham had confided in family and friends that Merseyside was his next destination.

Bellingham, 18, still has four years left on a bumper deal at the Westfalenstadion and now club chief Zorc has come out to set the record straight.

'When we signed Jude last year, many top clubs were interested in him,' he told German publication Sport Bild.

'He made a conscious decision in favour of Borussia Dortmund and the concept that we presented to him. His development in Dortmund is far from over.

'His head is very clear and he has a good environment that helps him put his rapid development into perspective. That Jude is already showing consistency in his achievements was not to be expected when we signed him.'

The player himself had also briefly got involved in the transfer hysteria, reacting to a social media post claiming that he had told people he would be joining Liverpool by posting a GIF of himself laughing.

Though the tweet was removed a short while afterwards by Bellginham, the player's father also responded publicly to the reports.

Mark Bellingham described the gossip as 'really disappointing' and disputed the credibility of any speculation, suggesting that both Jude and his family see his immediate future at the Westfalenstadion, before then also deleting his tweet.