Manchester United are interested in signing Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund this summer, but Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian says the 19-year-old might be ‘too expensive’ if they sign Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur.
The Red Devils sold Nemanja Matic to AS Roma and Paul Pogba to Juventus, signing Casemiro from Real Madrid as a replacement, so there is a void to fill in midfield. Eric ten Hag has Fred and Scott McTominay providing substance in the engine room, but both players have an uncertain future at Old Trafford.
Bellingham expected to leave Dortmund
Bellingham is regarded as one of the best young players in Europe and boasts 122 appearances for Dortmund at he age of 19, scoring 20 goals with 24 assists. The England international has contributed 16 goals from 32 games this season and would greatly improve the United midfield, but Bellingham won’t be cheap.
Dortmund are resigned to losing the box-to-box player this summer and will let him leave for £100m, but United’s pursuit of Bellingham might hinge on whether they manage to sign Kane. The 29-year-old has one year left at Tottenham and could be on his way out of North London if they miss out on the top-four, but he will also cost £100m. Ten Hag could do with Bellingham and Kane in his squad, but he might prefer the midfielder who is 10 years Kane’s junior.
Fred isn’t a regular in the starting lineup, amassing 959 minutes from a possible 2250 in the Premier League this season while being out of contract in 2024, so he might be upgraded. McTominay may follow him through the exit door too, as he’s started only seven league games in 2022/23 – one since October 2022.
But Kane boasts 268 goals and 63 assists from 423 games for Spurs, netting 20 times with four assists from 37 games this season, so he’d be a great addition to the attack. Wout Weghorst has scored just one goal in 14 games for United while Anthony Martial hasn’t played since January due to injury, so they need a prolific centre-forward.
Time will tell if the Red Devils end up with either player this summer, but Steinberg is convinced they won’t land the signatures of both.
