Jude Bellingham: Man Utd transfer hopes nosedive amid £300m Glazers blackhole as new favourites emerge for signing
Manchester United hopes of sealing the Jude Bellingham transfer could already be over after a startling report detailed a £300m financial blackhole facing the Glazers.
The Borussia Dortmund teenager is already established as one of the world’s elite midfielders. And with a summer move on the cards, the Bundesliga side are sticking a prohibitive price on his young shoulders.
However, at just 19 years of age, BVB feel well within their right to demand their apparent £132m (€150m) asking price. His ceiling is ridiculously high given how good he is at such a young age.
As such, demand for his services is extremely high.
That chase, for many months, has seemingly been led by Liverpool. The Merseysiders are in desperate need of rebuilding their side, with midfield the main focus.
But the sheer number of new players required this summer means a move for Bellingham looks too excessive right now. As a result, Jurgen Klopp’s side have dropped out of the race. And as a consequence, Liverpool now have a six-man wishlist of midfield targets this summer.
With Liverpool dropping out the race for Bellingham, the door has been left wide open for long-term suitors Manchester United to seal a deal.
Indeed, they were beaten in a 50/50 race with Dortmund to seal his £20m signing from Birmingham back in 2020.
Now Liverpool’s decision to look elsewhere has seemingly left United at the front of the transfer queue.
However, it seems the Red Devils have a series of financial hurdles to cross first before they can finance a deal.
Man Utd struggle to finance Jude Bellingham transfer
And according to the Daily Telegraph, the Glazer family have serious misgivings about spending £132m on a single player.
Per their report, the Glazers, and Manchester United, still owe £300m in outstanding transfer fees. And with the club aware of the pitfalls of breaching Financial Fair Play regulations, need to plan their summer window carefully.
As such, it is claimed the only way they can finance a move for Bellingham would be to offload a number of other players.
And while the likes of Anthony Martial, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Dean Henderson, to name a few, could all leave this summer, it is doubtful they can raise the capital needed to sign Bellingham.
As such, the report claims United are unlikely to make a serious play to sign Bellingham.
And while a takeover of the club could yet change the financial picture for United again. However, as things stand, they are not in a position to present a viable proposal for Bellingham
Manager Erik ten Hag, however, is in the market to sign a new midfielder. But with a new striker at the very top of his wanted list, United will likely have a more modest spending allowance allocated for any new addition to their engine room.
To that end, a move for £73m-rated Frenkie de Jong will likely be explored again first.
New favourites emerge for Bellingham deal
With United seemingly out of the picture, the Telegraph claims two sides will be left to compete for Bellingham’s signature.
One of those will be Real Madrid, who themselves are long-time admirers of the 24-times capped England star.
However, it seems Manchester City are now emerging as the favourites to land Bellingham.
And it’s claimed, with Pep Guardiola a huge fan, they are not put off by the costs involved and will pay ‘whatever it takes’ to land the Dortmund star.
In addition, it’s believed that the £132m fee will not be required up front. Dortmund, for their part, are reportedly seeking a downpayment of around £80m – £90m – with the rest made up in add-ons and bonuses.
Those will be related to appearances, trophy success, as well as personal accolades for the player. They are seemingly focused around a future Balon d’Or nomination and potential win. And it seems the total fee will only reac the £132m ceiling if all objectives are met.
PSG have also been credited with an interest. However, they are reportedly unwilling to follow up with a firm bid – leaving City as firm favourites.
