Whilst Manchester United have been said to be confident of ensnaring 16-year old Jude Bellingham to join them when he finally leaves Birmingham, it now seems the young ‘un is not as impressionable as he may appear, as he is reportedly set to snub Manchester United and join Borussia Dortmund instead.
The impressive midfielder has attracted attention from all across Europe after starring prodigiously for Birmingham in the Championship, scoring four goals and three assists and is estimated to cost £50million this summer. Not bad at all by all accounts for a 16-year old.
According to reports coming out from both Germany and England, Bellingham is belived to be choosing Dortmund over United and Chelsea as his next berth to further develop his young career.
United had apparently hoped that seeting up a charm offensive with none other than Sir Alex Ferguson making a personal appearance at Old Trafford earlier this season would be enough to seal the deal with the talented young midfielder.
A source told The Sun: “We felt that he was blown away with what he was shown and what was said to him by all.
“We believe he was impressed with what we can offer. We have a duty of care to young players and want to develop them.”
Well, it looks like not all ponies who canter around in the corral get waylaid by big carrots dangled in front of them as Bellingham appears to have been convinced by Dortmund’s track record with bringing through youngsters, the latest of whom being England international Jadon Sancho who is currently one of the hottest properties in the continent and Erling Haaland, ‘nuff said!
Missing out on Bellingham, if they really were to eventually, may actually not be a bad thing for United as this could see them fast-track their bid for Sancho who is also hotly being courted by several Premier League clubs including Chelsea and Liverpool.
At the end of the day, with conditions being the way they are being drastically laid barren as the coronavirus pandemic continues to exact its toll on the finances of all clubs, Dortmund’s intentions of signing Bellingham could possibly encounter a snag.
Talks were reported earlier to be at an advanced stage between the club and player, but it is learned now that Dortmund will not be entering into any further transfer activity discussions until they know when the current season will resume, if at all it does.