Manchester United could have the upper hand in the race to sign Jude Bellingham this summer, after details have emerged about their newly-appointed director of football negotiations.
With Liverpool having removed themselves from the pursuit of Bellingham in the upcoming transfer window, it looked most likely that the Borussia Dortmund star would join either Real Madrid or Manchester City.
Manchester United could try and lure him to Old Trafford through their negotiating tactics, though, with Matt Hargreaves set to start his new role as the spearhead for the club's football negotiations.
Hargreaves, who is currently working his notice period at Adidas, has spent nearly 15 years at the manufacturing giant as the sports marketing director, looking after and scouting football players in northern Europe. During this period he has looked after some of the biggest names in football, including Bellingham.
According to the Daily Mail, the pair have a good working relationship, and Hargreaves could be the "secret weapon" in Manchester United's shock attempt to sign the 19-year-old ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
Bellingham has been the subject of much transfer speculation in recent months, with the England midfielder expected to leave Germany for a richer side than Borussia Dortmund. With two years left on his contract, though, it isn't guaranteed that he'll leave the Bundesliga side.
Clubs will have to fork out well over £100 million to even be able to enter a conversation with Dortmund over the signing of Bellingham, while he and his family will plot his next career path with the same careful consideration he did while at Birmingham.
Indeed, prior to moving to Dortmund for £25 million in 2020, Manchester United attempted to convince Bellingham to sign for them as best as they could. However, without the promise of regular first-team football, he decided to move elsewhere.
That and the fact he once refused to travel to Manchester United to discuss a transfer because he didn’t want to miss training with Birmingham City.
