Manchester United have made contact with Borussia Dortmund for Jobe Bellingham
The momentum has shifted at Manchester United in recent weeks. Ruben Amorim was struggling to keep hold of his job after the defeat at Brentford, with the head coach losing support from several quarters of the fanbase. But INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe has kept his faith in the Portuguese tactician, backing him publicly and since then we’ve seen results changing.
Three consecutive Premier League wins- for the first time under Ruben Amorim– has got Manchester United looking up. Amorim has tweaked certain things in his system in the wins over Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton. The midfield double pivot of Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes is not getting bypassed easily because of the tactical tweaks made by our head coach. Casemiro and Fernandes have been brilliant in the recent Premier League wins, bringing their experience, quality and class to the floor.
That is nowhere to suggest the Red Devils do not have problems in the middle of the park. Casemiro will turn 34 in February and is out of contract at the end of the season, Manuel Ugarte has not quite made the impact expected of him since arriving from PSG in the summer of 2024 and Kobbie Mainoo has been a squad option this term.
Manchester United have been looking for a dynamic midfielder in the last few transfer windows, and now it has reached an interesting stage.
Man United considering making an offer for Borussia Dortmund midfielder
According to a report from Spanish outlet Fichajes, Man United have Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jobe Bellingham in their priority list and are already considering an offer of around €50 million in order to get a deal done.
Jobe Bellingham, one of the highly-rated English talents, played a key role in Sunderland’s promotion to the Premier League in May and was crowned the Championship’s Young Player of the Season. After two strong seasons with Sunderland, Borussia Dortmund came calling and signed him for £33 million on a five-year deal in June.
However, the 20-year-old has struggled to make an impact in Germany, starting just four games in all competitions so far this campaign. The English talent’s role in the Borussia Dortmund team has yet to be established under manager Nico Kovac. As a result, the Bundesliga side- aware of interest from several clubs, would be ready to sell Bellingham if a significant offer is tabled.
Man United plans to reinforce their midfield unit by bringing in Bellingham in the winter transfer window. They have contacted Dortmund and are willing to stump up to €50 million for the midfielder’s services. But, the report adds the England Under-21 international has no interest in joining Amorim’s forces at Old Trafford as they are unable to offer Champions League football.
No point in going for Bellingham
Amorim wants talented, hungry and motivated players who wants to come to United and get the club back to where it belongs. Back in April, the Portuguese boss said that he did not want to sign players who solely joined the Red Devils in the hope of playing in the Champions League, which led to INEOS moving away from Viktor Gyokeres and signing Benjamin Sesko instead to bolster their strike force.
If reports are to be believed and Bellingham indeed wants to play in the Champions League immediately, United must stay away from him. There is no point in making an offer for a player whose motivation lies in playing in the Champions League. It is definitely not wrong and shows ambition, but United are a growing project under Amorim and neither have Champions League football this term nor can guarantee it next season.
That said, the 20-time English champions would be wise to shift their focus elsewhere in order to bolster their midfield unit.