Jude Bellingham isn’t the only England player Liverpool will be watching at the World Cup as they are also preparing to scout a Premier League midfielder, according to a report.

England travelled to Qatar on Tuesday and have since begun preparation for their World Cup campaign. They will begin the group stage by facing Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium on Monday.

After that, the Three Lions will take on the USA on Friday. And their final game in Group B will come against Wales next Tuesday.

Major clubs such as Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid will be keeping tabs on Bellingham’s performances. The Borussia Dortmund man will probably be on the move next summer, with the German side set to make a big profit on him.

Jordan Pickford will also be looking to impress at the tournament. According to a recent report, Chelsea are thinking of the Everton goalkeeper as a potential signing. Todd Boehly is ‘unconvinced’ by Edouard Mendy and Kepa Arrizabalaga, and Pickford might come in as the new number one.

It seems Bellingham and Pickford will be joined by West Ham captain Declan Rice in being scouted at the World Cup.

According to Football Insider, Liverpool will be ‘closely monitoring’ Rice over the next month.

As has been widely reported, Jurgen Klopp is in dire need of midfield reinforcements. His current crop of players in the position is mostly ageing or injured, and even recent signing Arthur Melo is in the treatment room.

Liverpool leaning towards Prem star 

Liverpool know there will be a fierce battle to land Bellingham. They believe Rice will be slightly easier to land due to there being slightly less interest in him from elite clubs around Europe.

Klopp is supposedly a ‘huge’ admirer of Rice. And due to this, Liverpool recruitment chiefs will be watching and analysing how the 23-year-old does in Qatar.

They have two concerns about Rice before potentially taking him to Anfield. The report claims Reds officials are worried about Rice dealing with the ‘scrutiny’ and ‘huge-game pressure’ he will face at the World Cup.

This is due to the fact he doesn’t play in the Champions League or in cup finals with West Ham.

Declan Rice highly likely to shine for England

But these worries at Liverpool’s end look set to be batted away by Rice. After all, he played a big role in helping England reach the European Championship final last year.

The Irons star is likely to do the same at this tournament, which means he could impress those at Liverpool hugely.

It would be massive if Liverpool rejected the chance to sign Bellingham and instead went for Rice. Such a move would probably give Real a free run at Bellingham.

As the report mentions, Rice may have slightly less competition for his services. But this doesn’t mean a move will be easy for Liverpool to complete.

He is arguably West Ham’s most important player. He is hugely valuable to them and due to this they will not accept anything less than £100million for him.

Liverpool don’t have as much spending power as Manchester City or Newcastle so spending £100m on Rice would be stretching their finances. The potential pursuit of Rice will show just how far Liverpool are willing to go to solve Klopp’s midfield headache.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have been told where they can take advice from Man Utd in the chase for Bellingham.

The article Liverpool to scout England ace at World Cup after ‘huge’ Jurgen Klopp admiration revealed, with two concerns to be batted away appeared first on Teamtalk.com.