Rio Ferdinand believes Manchester United prioritising signing a centre forward this summer will mean missing out on Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham.
The England international is the subject of significant transfer interest with United huge fans of the England international. Manchester City and Real Madrid are also keen but Liverpool have cooled their interest.
Jurgen Klopp's side seem set to miss out on Champions League football and the feeling is they would be unwilling to finance a move for the midfielder. That could boost United's chances, but former Old Trafford defender Ferdinand predicts Erik ten Hag's team will also find any transfer unaffordable due to other priorities.
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"Liverpool have ruled themselves out now, (but) I think if they said they would have liked him, there was still a chance he may have gone to Liverpool," Ferdinand told BT Sport. "Just because he believes in himself and would back himself to be the catalyst to get them back up again, which then amplifies his character and his stardust.
"That maybe is something that would have excited him. Man United might offer that, but the problem is that United’s priority is a centre-forward, and that (a midfielder) is very secondary. It’s a lot of money, and I don’t think they can do both.
"If I’m him (Bellingham) now, I probably go to Real Madrid. They’ve got a great blend of experience and young players. You’ve got (Eduardo) Camavinga, (Federico) Valverde and (Aurelien) Tchouameni, three of the other best young midfielders in the world as well in that squad. They’re building for success over a good period of time."
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