Jürgen Klopp has paid a lavish tribute to Jude Bellingham and insisted failure to qualify for the Champions League this season would not prevent Liverpool attracting their top transfer targets. Liverpool’s interest in Bellingham was well established before the England midfielder enhanced his reputation at the World Cup, although the prospect of Borussia Dortmund selling the 19-year-old in January appears remote. Despite also being linked with a move for Enzo Fernández next month, Liverpool are not in the market for Argentina’s World Cup-winning midfielder. Klopp may have to wait until the summer to test Dortmund’s resolve to keep Bellingham but that has not deterred the Liverpool manager, usually reluctant to discuss players at other clubs, from launching what amounted to a charm offensive towards the coveted England international. Asked whether Bellingham’s World Cup performances could put him out of Anfield’s financial reach, Klopp replied: “I don’t like to talk about money when you talk about a player like him. Everyone can see he is just exceptional. “If you mention to someone who has no clue about football: ‘How old do you think Jude Bellingham is?’ I don’t think anyone would get even close to his age. They would say 28 or 29 because he plays so mature. He played an exceptional World Cup. Absolutely exceptional. With all the things he has and things he can improve, to describe him I would say the things he can do are difficult to learn, and the things he can improve are easy to learn. He is a really good player. “What can I say? I have thought that already for two or three years since he had his breakthrough at Dortmund. Everybody knew already but I have no idea what that means for the money side of it. I really think if we all want to do him a favour then we do not talk too much about money. I mean that from an England point of view. Do not throw any hurdles in his development.” Liverpool, who visit Aston Villa on Boxing Day, are currently seven points adrift of Champions League qualification, albeit with a game in hand on fourth-placed Tottenham. Klopp is confident the gap can be bridged but, should Liverpool miss out on the Champions League for the first time in seven seasons, he does not believe it will have a damaging effect on transfer business in the long term. “It is very important for the club and that is our main target now,” the Liverpool manager said. “It is important but, from a transfer perspective, generally we have a good chance to qualify for the Champions League. Will it happen this year? I don’t know. But 100% we are one of the contenders for the next few years again. “If you ask a player and he says: ‘Next year you are not in the Champions League and I would prefer to go to a football club who plays this year’, then I am not sure I would still want this player, to be honest. I understand it 100% – I want to be in the Champions League all the time. For the moment we have two pathways still to qualify for the Champions League next year. As long as that is the case, I see ourselves as proper contenders for Champions League qualification.”