Former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has accepted that Jude Bellingham has made a sensible decision by snubbing a move to Old Trafford.
There have sadly been a few too many missed opportunities and wrong turns in the transfer market over recent years.
The big money spent on Jadon Sancho and Antony in back-to-back years now feels like a mistake, for example.
Others will wonder how United missed out on Moises Caicedo for just £4.5million in January 2021.
Then there is Jude Bellingham, with United missing out on the midfielder not once but twice…
How Manchester United missed out on Jude Bellingham
United first moved for Bellingham during his time at Birmingham City.
The midfielder had emerged as a first-team player as a teenager and attracted interest from the Premier League elite.
Bryan Robson told the Daily Mail just last week that he remembers meeting Bellingham with his parents alongside Eric Cantona, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Sir Alex Ferguson.
They tried to sell Bellingham on the move to United but he picked a move to Borussia Dortmund instead.
Bellingham became a superstar but United remain keen, targeting a huge £110million move back in March according to The Telegraph.
Real Madrid won the race though, leaving United to reflect on missing out not once, but twice.
Solskjaer opens up on Bellingham chase
Former United boss Solskjaer has now spoken to The Athletic, discussing a number of subjects – including the players he missed out on.
The Norwegian admitted that United wanted Bellingham ‘badly’ and pushed to bring him to the club.
Solskjaer feels that Bellingham is a Manchester United player at heart but he chose Dortmund.
Whilst Solskjaer will obviously be disappointed that Bellingham isn’t featuring for United, he accepts that the decision to move to Germany was ‘probably sensible’ given the trajectory of his career.
“We wanted Jude Bellingham badly — he’s a Man United player, but I respect he chose Dortmund. That was probably sensible,” said Solskjaer.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
