Manchester United Came Close To Signing Jude Bellingham And Will Try Again

When Birmingham City retired Jude Bellingham’s number No. 22 shirt in the summer of 2020 they were widely mocked by the football world.

After all Bellingham was still only 17-years-old and had played just 44 games when he was bestowed with an honour normally reserved for players who are retiring themselves after playing hundreds of games.

And while it still appears to be an over-the-top gesture it has become more obvious why they did it in the last two weeks.

At the World Cup in Qatar Bellingham, now 19-year-old, has announced himself as one of the world’s most exciting talents.

He has performed with a rare maturity in central midfield for England as they have progressed to a quarter-final against France on Saturday.

Bellingham has been at the heart of England’s impressive displays, surging through the centre of the pitch, and scoring one goal and providing one assist.

This has come as no surprise to Manchester United, who tried to sign Bellingham from Birmingham City in the summer of 2020.

United made an offer of around £25 million, a fraction of what he would be worth today, but Bellingham decided to instead join Borussia Dortmund.

This represented a huge disappointment for United, which has since become more acute, as they made a significant effort to lure him to Old Trafford.

In the spring of 2020 United hosted Bellingham and his family at their Carrington training ground and brought in some of their leading figures to help persuade him, including their greatest ever manager Sir Alex Ferguson, and one of their greatest ever players Eric Cantona.

The club believed they were close to agreeing personal terms with him and were highly confident he would sign.

However, the factors of playing time and development were at the forefront of Bellingham’s mind and led to him ultimately opting to move to Germany.

As United already had Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay, Fred, Nemanja Matic and Bruno Fernandes in central midfield, Bellingham was concerned he would only get limited playing time when he believed he was ready to become a first team regular.

Bellingham was more attracted to joining Borussia Dortmund because of their reputation as one of the leading clubs in Europe for young talent, and at that time could boast Jadon Sancho, Erling Haaland and Giovanni Reyna.

The development of Sancho, who had joined Dortmund at the age of 17 and in the space of three years been transformed into an England international and a player worth an estimated £100 million, helped convince Bellingham.

“The way they integrate young players into the first-team squad is next level,” he explained in November 2020. “There is not a club in Europe that does it quite like them.”

In the last two and a half years Bellingham has been delighted at how the German club have helped turn him in to one of the best midfielders in Europe.

As Bellingham had hoped he became a starter with them and has now made 112 appearances and scored 19 goals, with 8 being in European competitions.

This is why United, who feel vindicated that he has turned into the player they always believed he could be, will make another attempt to sign him in the near future.

They were bruised by his rejection in 2020, but also understood the appeal of Dortmund to a young player hungry for game time, and always saw it as hopefully only a temporary knock-back in a long-term pursuit.

The club have maintained a relationship with the player’s family and continued to monitor his impressive development in Germany.

Next summer Bellingham will have only two years remaining on his contract at Dortmund, which would force them to listen to offers.

This is where it starts to get difficult because for a player with his potential, who won’t turn 20 until next summer, Dortmund will want at least £100 million, and hope to ignite a bidding war to push his price up to around £150 million.

Bellingham would certainly represent an impressive statement signing for any new owners of United who could take over from the Glazer family next summer.

Three years ago, Bellingham had a choice between United and Dortmund, but there will now be a lot more competition for his signature.

Liverpool have tracked Bellingham’s progress since he was an Under-11, and retain a firm interest even as his value has climbed; Manchester City’s manager Pep Guardiola has described him as “exceptional” and naturally have the funds to compete, and Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, collectors of some of the best young talents in the game, will have also noted his World Cup performances.

There is also a good chance Bellingham sees next year as too early to leave Germany and even extends his contract with Dortmund.