In a summer dominated by talk of midfield signings, not least at Manchester United, the last few weeks have showcased that England‘s Jude Bellingham might well be the cream of the crop.
Scrutinised and criticised pre-tournament, the Real Madrid man has left plenty eating their words following a string of match-winning displays for Thomas Tuchel’s side, scoring six times en route to the last four.
While primarily deployed in a more advanced role, the World Cup has showcased that there is a completeness to his game that is almost unrivalled. The perfect fusion of old-school physicality and modern-day elegance.
Madrid, unsurprisingly, won’t be letting him go anytime soon, with the chance for those back at Old Trafford to sign him having seemingly already come and gone.
How Man Utd missed out on Bellingham in 2020
There are transfer ‘mistakes’ littered throughout this current England squad from a United perspective, with the Red Devils opting against pursuing Harry Kane in 2023, the same summer in which long-term target Declan Rice made the move to Arsenal.
More recently, INEOS have been beaten to the punch by rivals Manchester City for Elliot Anderson, the £116m man arguably the unsung hero of Tuchel’s side in recent weeks.
And yet, the biggest near-miss surely lies with Bellingham, with Ed Woodward and co having rolled out the red carpet to try and sign the then 17-year-old in the summer of 2020.
The likes of Eric Cantona and Sir Alex Ferguson were even believed to have tried to sweet-talk the teenager, with club legend Bryan Robson admitting that United “thought [they] had him”.
The Birmingham-born wonderkid, as has become plain to see in the year since, is a wise head on young shoulders, having perhaps rightly swerved the chaos of Old Trafford in order to further his career at Borussia Dortmund.
|
Bellingham – Career League Record |
|
|---|---|
|
Season (League) |
Goals (Assists) |
|
25/26 (LaLiga) |
6 (4) |
|
24/25 (LaLiga) |
9 (8) |
|
23/24 (LaLiga) |
19 (6) |
|
22/23 (Bundesliga) |
8 (4) |
|
21/22 (Bundesliga) |
3 (8) |
|
20/21 (Bundesliga) |
1 (3) |
|
19/20 (Championship) |
4 (2) |
Three years later, he was Madrid-bound, while he’s now a Champions League winner with Los Blancos and a leading figure for both club and country, with it hard to argue against his decision in that regard.
It’s more damning for United that they weren’t able to land what looked like a sure thing, leaving the club in a position now where the midfield is in need of such a drastic overhaul.
Why Man Utd want to sign Bellingham-esque midfield sensation
Perhaps there’s a world in which a midfield trio of Anderson, Bellingham and Rice is lining up in a United shirt, but alas, Michael Carrick will at least have Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo to build around next season.
Throw into the mix Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, and there’s plenty to like about the club’s midfield unit heading into 2026/27, even if the truly elite, marquee names haven’t quite arrived.
Like with the signing of Santos, there is wisdom in trying to nurture young talent rather than necessarily going all guns blazing on the more high-profile names, with far too many costly signings having backfired over the last decade or so.
Indeed, INEOS appear to be taking a different approach, with Football Transfers reporting that United have opened talks to sign Eintracht Frankfurt starlet, Hugo Larsson.
The suggestion is that both the Red Devils and Newcastle United have reached out to the player’s representatives, with the 22-year-old open to leaving the Bundesliga side this summer.
Frankfurt, considering he still has three years left on his deal, aren’t in any rush to sell, with the Swede likely to fetch in the region of €50m (£42m).
That might appear a steep price for a player who didn’t make Sweden’s World Cup squad, but scratch beneath the surface and there’s a talent there.
In the view of analyst and Como scout, Ben Mattinson, Larsson was actually “very similar to Bellingham statistically” during his time at former club Malmo, having been suggested as a potential replacement for ‘Jude’ at Dortmund.
He did ultimately make his way to Germany to join Frankfurt in that summer of 2023, since making 110 appearances for his current side, scoring and assisting 17 times.
An eye-catching figure at 6 foot 2, it’s easy to see why the box-to-box talent has been likened to Bellingham, with Larsson a real all-rounder, someone certainly in a different mould to United’s current options.
Looking at his form in 2024/25, for instance, he compared favourably to his fellow midfielders in Europe’s big five leagues, notably ranking within the top 12% for the percentage of both progressive and forward passes completed per 90.
A pass is considered progressive if the distance between the starting point and the next touch is at least 10 meters closer to the opponent’s goal or any completed pass into the penalty area.
It wasn’t the most fruitful 2025/26 campaign, although the Scandinavian did score and assist four goals in the Bundesliga from just 21 starts, while boasting a solid 87% pass accuracy rate.
For comparison, Casemiro’s pass completion rate was way down at just 81% in the Premier League last term.
Larsson might not be a household name as yet, but neither were Patrick Dorgu or Senne Lammens before joining United, with INEOS showcasing their ability to widen the scope when it comes to exciting young targets on the market.
If Larsson, still only 22, can get anywhere close to Bellingham’s current levels, then the Red Devils would be onto a winner.
