Sign Jude Bellingham! Man Utd urged by club legend to become a 'proper team' again by swooping for Real Madrid superstar who 'takes responsibility like Bruno Fernandes'

United tried to sign Bellingham when he was just 16 and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge. United gave the then teenager the red carpet treatment which included visits from legendary captains Bryan Robson and Eric Cantona plus Sir Alex Ferguson, only for him to opt for Borussia Dortmund instead. 

Robson explained: "It was really disappointing. We were at Carrington and Sir Alex Ferguson was there a little earlier than I was, but Eric and I met him, and his mum and dad, and we were chatting away. It was really looking promising that he was going to be signing for Manchester United...me and Eric did a rubbish job as he signed for Borussia! We thought we had him in the bag!"

Former United defender Wes Brown believes the club should go after Bellingham again to signal they want to get back to their former heights and challenge for the Premier League and Champions League titles each season.

Brown told BettingLounge: "Jude Bellingham, what a great player, and even still at a young age for me I think he can handle the limelight, the responsibility on the pitch, and be the guy on the pitch when needed. It's a little bit like how Bruno plays for United now, taking responsibility in games.

"Even when we weren’t playing well, he'd take the responsibility. Sometimes he even got a little bit of stick for doing it too. Jude is a fantastic player too who would definitely make the team better, 100%."

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Brown believes that all the continent's top clubs would be looking to sign Bellingham if he decides to leave Real and if that situation ever arises, he advises United to make a statement and get the deal done. Bellingham, who has scored four La Liga goals this term, is currently out injured after hurting his thigh in his last game against Rayo Vallecano.

"He has the ability, the drive, he has the defensive side of his game, and he has that stature in the game too, the way he’s built himself up," Brown added. "If anything were to happen at Real Madrid, believe me that every big club would be looking at him regardless of price. He would be a formidable signing for anyone, and what a signing he would be for Manchester United. That would be a signing where you're saying, 'OK, we're back on track and we're going to get the best players and start building a proper team'."

If United are serious about signing Bellingham, they will almost certainly have to satisfy the England midfielder's desire to play in the Champions League. The Red Devils have taken a big push towards returning to Europe's top competition since Michael Carrick succeeded Ruben Amorim, beating Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham in their last three games. And Brown believes Carrick can help them seal that coveted top-four Premier League finish to get back to the big time.

He added: "I think that Michael will just be thinking about getting United as high as he can. It would be great to be back in the Champions League, and you can’t get too carried away after three games, but if they carry on then they’ll be putting all sorts of pressure on Aston Villa and City.

"United’s problem for years has been beating the teams below the top half of the table, the teams that as a fan you’d expect them to beat, but they can only draw or even end up getting beat. United have played really well against the big teams and got results. So Michael has got to keep the balance going. It will be interesting to see if he can do that."