‘He knew what he wanted’… Ole Gunnar Solskjaer explains why Jude Bellingham didn’t sign for Manchester United

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has explained why Manchester United missed out on Jude Bellingham.

It was already clear Jude Bellingham was destined for incredible things in football when he burst onto the scene at Birmingham City.

The midfielder was taking the Championship by storm as a 16-year-old and the prodigy did not go unnoticed by Europe’s elite.

A long line of clubs wanting his signature formed and Manchester United were firmly in the race.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was keen to add Bellingham to his ranks and the teenager travelled to Carrington with his family to meet the manager and other club officials as he decided on his next move.

Bellingham chose Borussia Dortmund instead and Solksjaer has explained how United missed out on a generational talent.

Solskjaer explains how United missed out on Bellingham

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Solskjaer said: “He knew what he wanted.

“Jude, he was in the building. You can’t ask a lot more for a midfielder.

“I was there obviously as the manager, Sir Alex was there. Roy should have been there but you weren’t, Bryan Robson was there and Cantona was there that day when he came to the club.

“We all spoke to him. Of course, we sold it to him as well as we could but he knew what he wanted.

“X amount of minutes in the first team. That’s it. The most mature 17-year-old I’ve ever met in my life.”

An agonising miss for United

It’s impossible to argue with Bellignham’s decision. He played a blinder and his career path could not have gone better.

After further developing his talent at Dortmund, he joined Real Madrid in the summer and has become the main man at the biggest club in the world.

Bellingham is world-class and already one of the best midfielders on the planet at just 20 years old.

It was an agonising miss for United, though, who also failed to sign another of Solskjaer’s targets in Erling Haaland when he was in charge.

Just like with Haaland, it’s interesting to wonder if Bellingham would be the player he is today given the turmoil at Old Trafford at that time.

But he surely would have got the minutes he desired. Even then when he was just a teenager he would have been United’s best midfielder.

Things could look so different today but we will never know.