Liverpool Mail: Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount, new contracts – and who’s leaving? Part 1

From Jude Bellingham to Mason Mount, Liverpool’s summer refurbishment, possible costs, the owners’ business model, the role of Trent Alexander-Arnold, the stadium renovation and time travel, everything you’d like to know about a wide range of topics in our latest newsletter.

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Let’s start…

When all our forwards are healthy, do you think Darwin Nunez will start or Luis Diaz? Is it a good idea to contact Dortmund before the transfer window opens so as not to be involved in the Bellingham carnage? How do you feel about selling Thiago, Fabinho, Joe Gomez and possibly Diogo Jota to get money for Bellingham? (Jennifer E)

As far as attacking rankings go, it’s hard to predict because since Cody Gakpo came in, Liverpool haven’t had a situation where they were all available and Klopp wants to be in a position where he can rotate without degrading quality. I would like to see Diaz on the left, Nunez in the center and Mohamed Salah on the right. Gakpo has shown that he can play a little deeper when needed.

As for Bellingham, any club talking to him and his representatives will have a clear idea of ​​what Dortmund wants in terms of transfer fees. If you get a firm commitment from the player regarding their chosen destination, then this will help to avoid any war of stakes.

Finally, given that any pay structure for Bellingham would be spread out over time, I don’t think this is the case to sell players to raise funds. I would not sell any of the said quartet if Liverpool did not receive massive offers. For the money that could be made for Thiago this summer, it would be better to leave him for the last year of his contract.

If one of the centre-backs needs to be upgraded this summer, I think it would be wiser to replace Joel Matip rather than Gomez. As for Zhota, he is still a great option.

What are our chances of raising enough money to sign Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and even Mount? If necessary, we can sell players like Diaz to get cash. (Brooks Gee)

Bellingham is Liverpool’s main target, although, as my colleague David Ornstein said, there is no way we can be sure we will eventually get him, given that other clubs are interested in making a deal with him.

In favor of Liverpool is the fact that he has good relations with Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Bellingham is considering his options and I would expect the picture to be much clearer by the end of the season. However, Mbappe is unrealistic. The numbers in question were too crazy.

Even if Liverpool acquire Bellingham, they will still need at least one more midfielder and Mount is a serious option if Chelsea are looking to sell him this summer. No matter what happens, Diaz is not going anywhere. He is a big part of Liverpool’s future.

Has the expansion of the Anfield Road stand been largely paid for at the moment? What additional income is it expected to bring? (Paul D)

The cost of the Anfield Road renovation is £80m ($97m). The recently published reports for last season showed that total investment in tangible assets for this period was £23.4m. I would expect to see another significant piece of spending in future reports. Liverpool are using their existing banking capacity to pay for the refurbishment, not what happened with the new £110m Main Stand in 2016 when FSG provided a low interest loan that is being repaid over time. The outstanding balance in this case currently stands at £71.4m.

In terms of how much additional revenue the new stand will bring in a season, it’s obviously highly dependent on how far Liverpool progress in the various cup competitions. Record matchday revenue last season (£87m) was so high because the club played so many home matches. But with 7,000 extra seats from the start of next season taking the stadium’s capacity to 61,000, it’s reasonable to assume they’ll bring in an extra £7m to £10m a year.