Why Bellingham and Phillips warned off 'transfer graveyard' Man Utd
Martin Macdonald
- 30 Apr 2022 11:59 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United will undertake a major squad overhaul this summer, with new manager Erik ten Hag set to be given a significant transfer budget to bring in new players.
Following a recent defeat against Liverpool, caretaker boss Ralf Rangnick admitted that the Man Utd squad needs as much as 10 players to compete with the likes of the Reds and Manchester City.
The club will not qualify for the Champions League this season, which means that it faces a tough task in trying to convince top players to join them this summer.
Two names near the top of their transfer wishlist are Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice.
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Bellingham has emerged as one of the brightest talents in world football over the last year following his performances for Dortmund and indeed the England national side.
Before the 18-year-old completed his sensational transfer to Dortmund from Birmingham City, he was regularly scouted by basically every elite club in England and also Bayern, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
He was reportedly shown around Man Utd's Carrington training complex by none other than Sir Alex Ferguson, and the Red Devils still hold a big interest.
As for Rice, the England international is now considered one of the best midfielders in the Premier League following a vast improvement in his performances over the last 18 months, while he starred for the Three Lions at Euro 2020.
West Ham have improved massively under David Moyes, with a European semi-final on the horizon, but the general feeling is that Rice will eventually be moved on for a huge fee, probably in excess of £150 million.
Former Man Utd defender Gary Neville has warned that the club will need to shake off a current "transfer graveyard" label if they are to attract stars like the aforementioned pair.
What did Neville say?
"Jamie Carragher said last week that Rice and Bellingham would be mad to come and join Manchester United or words to that effect," Neville said on his podcast for Sky Sports.
"I get what he's saying because it has been a bit of a graveyard in the last few years for some pretty decent players and talented players. And I think if you are those players they're going to be a struggle to attract at this moment in time.
"Not just because there's no Champions League, but just because there is no faith in how Manchester United grow and develop players. I don't mean develop from the academy, from when they're signing.
"So if you're an agent at this moment in time and you've Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, teams with great managers and purring engines — maybe not all of them — but most of them have, and you look at Manchester United, it's too big of a risk.
"So I think he (Ten Hag) has to rebuild that trust back up in Manchester United as a manager, to then say this is my club, my team, how I play and now you can join because we've got a great stadium with a wonderful fan base, one of the great clubs in the world and actually, we're going to go somewhere again."
