03 Jul 2020 11:55:20
Looks like Dortmund have Bellingham now to add to Haaland earlier in the season. Is it not going to be cheaper in the long run to offer the Dortmund Director of Football an offer he can't refuse?

I know it's more complex than that.

Dortmund look a great option for young up and coming talents. If you're good enough you'll get game time in a competitive league with added bonus of regular Champs League exposure too potentially.

Still shows how far our star has currently fallen though if we are failing to attract these young talents.

Think Bryan Robson, Ryan Giggs or Paul Scholes showing them around Carrington would be far more effective than Matt Judge etc.

1.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 12:03:30
Did bellingham not meet fergy?

2.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 12:16:11
Ed002 has said that the club is not good at giving young players a clear pathway for their career progression. Don’t think it’s not having ex-players showing them around the ground, more not giving them a direct outline of how the club plans to develop their progress.

3.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 12:29:00
He did meet fergie jred your right.
Good decision by the player imo just like haaland.
Really good club to john. Will get opportunities and the whole experience will be good for him.

4.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 13:05:48
It might be easier to buy Dortmund and use it as a feeder club.

5.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 13:07:12
I think it's really difficult to get enough game time at a top club to maximise your talent as a young player.

Only the truly exceptional players or ones who make a sudden step up when there is an injury crisis tend to make it at top club's.

For every Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes or Marcus Rashford at United we have a Ravel Morrison, Angel Gomes or Callum Gribbin.

A young player can only grow and develop as a player by playing matches, yet being a young inexperienced player they will make mistakes.

Top sides generally can't afford to have too many young players making mistakes and still expect to challenge for top honours.

Martin Odegaard made the move to Real Madrid as a 16 year old. Now at 22 after two loans he is starting to fulfil his early promise. While his future at Real Madrid is still uncertain.

I think a move to a good stepping stone club is a great move for a young player. No one expects Sancho or Haaland to spend their entire careers at Dortmund. Just like Goetze, Lewandowski, Hummels, Dembele etc before them they will play there for a few years before moving on to an elite side.

It's a move that makes sense for Jude Bellingham. Play most weeks at a club renowned for taking young talented players and making them stars. Then in 3-4 years time make the move to a top club that he could potentially still play for 10 years for.

I don't see where he fits at United. Matic, McTominay, Fred, Bruno, Pogba and Andreas Pereira all ahead of him at United. It's a signing that could have gone the same way as Nick Powell, a young talented midfielder signed from the Championship who struggled for minutes and subsequently dropped down the league again having failed to progress.

Goo luck to the kid and maybe if there is a need/ space for him in a few years time he might make the move to United.

6.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 15:04:14
Matic is prob in his last season. Pogba wants out and will either go this summer or next. McTominay is a squad player, and Pereira is a terrible player. Bellingham would definitely be getting game time with us.

7.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 15:27:13
Not so sure danny if he would but i agree with the rest of what you say😂.

8.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 16:31:07
The boy shows he has a good character to go abroad at such an early age. He will be all the better for it.

He will be well schooled at Dortmund and have less pressure than playing for Utd so should develop more quickly. Also he will still in a few years time have his peak years ahead and we could possibly sign him then.

9.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 16:32:48
What's wrong with working hard, training well, being patient and taking your chance when it comes along? What's wrong with taking responsibility for your own career rather than wanting someone to map it out for you.

Utd are synonymous for trusting in youth and giving young players a chance what more incentive do you need. You only have to look at the examples of Rashford, Greenwood, Williams, Mctominay, Tuanzebe, Pereria and Lingard to name but a few. No one can guarantee you a route into the first team, you have to work hard, stay humble and trust you'll be given a chance.

I actually think Bellingham is taking a big gamble. Players learn by playing football and at only 16 he'll struggle to get into their first time. I think he would have been better served staying at Birmingham, continuing to test himself in men's football in a competitive league and waiting until he was completely ready to challenge for a place in the first team.

For every Sancho there are thousands of examples of other kids that don't make it. Having said that it's a brave decision and hopefully experiencing a different culture and lifestyle will aid his development and help him reach his full potential.

10.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 17:20:18
DLIB, that's speaking as a United fan.

We have 29 players in our under 18's and 13 left in our under 23's after we released 9 players last week.

How many of those 42 do you think will make their debut? How many will get several games to make their mark and have a chance?

Brandon Williams wasn't taken on the pre-season tour last summer, he only got his chance because their were injuries in the first team AND Laird who was ahead of him in the academy was injured as well. Otherwise it's unlikely he will have made his debut this season.

That means Williams owes his current United career more to chance than design. He got lucky that others picked up injuries.

The truth is most players in our academy leave having never made a first team appearance for us, no matter how hard they work.

Case in point only three players at the entire club have covered more ground in training this season than Teden Mengi. Now I'm sure he will get a chance, but as yet he hasn't made his debut. Even though he is working harder than most of the first team.

Players need to know the club has a plan for them, working hard and trusting in their talent isn't enough. The academy is a school, you wouldn't send your kids to a school without knowing the school had some sort of a plan on how to help your children progress.

11.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 17:34:42
Shappy so is that different to any other club,?
I'm not sure what your point is.

12.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 17:39:49
Danny, I think on current ability McTominay is ahead of Bellingham. While Fred and Bruno are also ahead of him. Matic plays a role not really suited to Bellingham currently so while not maybe in direct competition for a place he will likely take up one of the three starting midfield positions. Pogba may well leave this summer, or next. If he stays the next season Bellingham would have Matic, Pogba, Bruno, Fred and McTominay ahead of him even if we bump Pereira off down the road.

The kid needs to play probably 30-35 full matches next season to continue his development. That will likely be just over half of all our maximum number of games.

He isn't ready for that. Not in this league and not with the pressure playing for United brings. He can't be loaned out as he is under 18 and would more than likely spend most of next season playing in our under 23's which is a lower standard than League 1.

13.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 18:09:25
Shappy - All that players need to know is that the Club has a philosophy and belief in giving chances to players from the academy.

Utd promote more players from the academy into the first team than nearly any other Club and they have been doing this consistently since before the Second World War.

If someone can explain to me in detail what other Clubs are doing better than Utd and how this is leading to more academy players getting into the first team then obviously i'm more than prepared to listen and be educated.

The stats suggest that Utd have a pretty proud and distinguished record of giving young players a chance and to suggest the Club is somehow letting young players down or is no longer an attractive option seems like a cheap shot to me not based on any foundation or evidence.

14.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 18:36:46
I agree with you Salford. The experience he will gain and the potential opportunities that will own up for him if he develops well are the stuff if dreams. At 16 he is still developing on every front.
Its not for everyone but i admire him for taking the route he has chosen.
He will be very much out of the spotlight and will get a different perspective on life and it will help round him add a person and round his footballing knowledge at a young age.
I am not suggesting their academy is better than ours or bayerns or citys i just think its a route than many more young English players should go down if it suits their personality.

15.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 19:15:42
I think Bellingham will excel at Dortmund. Quite possibly as they’ll give him the game time to grow and develop. If he’s that good though surely Dortmund can only give him the same playing time guarantees that United or any other club could give him. We signed a certain Wayne Rooney at 18 and he was ever-present in the first team from day one. Same with Ronaldo.

Looking at our current midfield I think we’ve seriously missed a trick.

Bruno - sensational
Pogba - exit been talked about last 2 years
Fred - much improved after poor first season
McTominay - developing all the time but not world class
Matic - hugely improved performances last 6 months but 32.
Lingard - consistently not good enough
Pereira - woeful

In one breath we look to be saying we need midfield reinforcements via Grealish, Van de Beek or Saul. So why not Bellingham?

I think missing out on Bellingham, as with Haaland, will seriously come back to bite us. Either in monetary terms by paying 4 or 5 times the cost now or more worryingly I think when such talented young players end up at our rivals.

We are a club who pride ourselves on playing youth. Clearly that message just wasn’t good enough for Bellingham.

16.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 19:25:15
Kids nowadays have no patience. Especially when they've had people telling them they're brilliant since they were no height. I'm off to shake my fist at some clouds, now.

17.) 03 Jul 2020
03 Jul 2020 20:13:59
How often have you seen him play? I've seen him 3 or 4 times.

18.) 04 Jul 2020
04 Jul 2020 02:45:47
Ken, I’ve watched the lad play twice and I’ve seen plenty of highlights on the football league equivalent of match of the day, and that isn’t a great amount of football by any stretch, but he’s clearly very talented, and at only 16 he’s certainly got potential to be an serious player. Would be disappointed if we didn’t make a serious offer to bring him to Old Trafford, not least because he might cost the earth in a few years.

19.) 04 Jul 2020
04 Jul 2020 09:08:07
Potential simialar to the potential say januzzai had, or shaw? Or gomes? Or jones?
Its not the end if the world missing out on this kid.

20.) 04 Jul 2020
04 Jul 2020 09:12:39
We did make s serious offer gilly he chose to go elswhere for a multitude of reasons. You can't win them all.
You are effectively suggesting the club invest upwards of 60m wages and fees on a kid you've seen play a couple of times in a crap team at a poor level. Yes he is talented and has potential but he wanted to go elsewhere i'm nit sue why people are disjointed with the club they tried hard too secure him.