Hey Jude! It’s a £25m United bid
MANCHESTER UNITED have moved a step closer to snapping up Birmingham’s Jude Bell ingham after reportedly offering £25 million for the 16- year-old midfielder.
Bellingham has made 24 appearances in all competitions for the Championship club this season, and has caught the eye of the Old Trafford hierarchy.
Belling ham’ s performances have also attracted attention from several clubs across Europe, according to the Daily Record.
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is desperate to broaden his midfield options after losing Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay to injury, and has placed emphasis on youth. His assistant Mike Phelan is believed to have watched Bellingham earlier this season.
Bellingham made his debut aged 16 years and 38 days. Weeks later, he became Birmingham’s youngest- ever scorer, netting a deflected shot against Stoke. Yesterday he scored their goal in a 1-1 draw with Cardiff.
United are also reportedly keeping close tabs on Leicester’s James Maddison and Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, although they were informed that neither playmaker is available this month. United are at logger heads with Sporting Lisbon over the £68m valuation of Bruno Fern and es. United still want to sign the Portuguese midfielder but are refusing to meet Sporting’s demands. Negotiations should resume next week but the two clubs are a long way apart on the fee.
United are aware that Tottenham would not bid higher than £38.5m for Fernandes last summer. United believe that overpaying this month could lead to a hike in transfer fees for other targets in the summer.
Fernandes, 25, played for Sporting in t heir derby defeat by Benfica on Friday night, indicating that a move is still some way off.
Fernandes has not agreed personal terms and the speculation seems designed to put pressure on United. Supporters are desperate for a signing this month with their team 27 points behind today’s opponents Liverpool.