Man Utd’s stance on huge £130m transfer revealed as ‘greatest threat’ to Real Madrid emerges
Man Utd are reportedly ‘exploring’ whether they will be able to challenge Real Madrid in the race to sign Jude Bellingham from Dortmund this summer.
The Red Devils were initially keen to sign Bellingham before he joined Dortmund in 2020 for a fee in the region of £25m from Birmingham City.
The Englishman has since established himself as one of the best young footballers in the world. He is attracting a lot of interest ahead of this summer’s transfer window.
Bellingham is under contract until 2025 but he is likely to leave Dortmund this summer while the Bundesliga outfit are able to negotiate a mega-money transfer.
Liverpool have been heavily linked with him in recent months but they have dropped out of the race after his showings at the World Cup raised Dortmund’s asking price. It has been indicated that he could cost as much as £130m this summer.
This is likely to leave Real Madrid and Man City leading the race to sign Bellingham this summer. Sky Sports’ Melissa Reddy has revealed that the Spanish giants have brought up Kylian Mbappe in discussions with the midfielder’s entourage.
‘There is no need to rush through a decision when you have received sales pitches from Real Madrid, Manchester City and Liverpool, while Manchester United explore whether there is any room to manoeuvre into a hot pursuit.
‘Bellingham’s priority is to continue his development at his next destination, and in his own words: “to win way more, to continue to push the boundaries of my own potential and talent.”
‘Real positioned their offer to the midfielder to become the best player in the world at the place that breeds champions.
‘They told him he can become a Ballon d’Or winner and Champions League royalty and weren’t shy in pointing out that Kylian Mbappe chose wrongly by staying at Paris Saint-Germain.’
READ MORE: RANKED… The ten biggest Premier League bottle jobs of all time, as Arsenal cling on for dear life
Reddy thinks Real Madrid see Man City ‘as their greatest threat’ in the battle for Bellingham. She adds that Man Utd are ‘unlikely to get into a bidding war’.
‘Real have feared City as their greatest threat in securing Bellingham and believe the England international wants to star in the Premier League. The defending champions are growing in confidence of securing him at the Etihad now Liverpool have now dropped out of the race.
‘United’s priority this summer is enhancing their attack. They need to secure Champions League football and to sell very well in order not to fall foul of FFP.
‘United are unlikely to get into a bidding war for Bellingham even though they were the first big English club to believe he was going to be a standout midfielder.’
