Why This 18-Year-Old Superstar Could Take Manchester United To Glory In 5 Years

As Erik Ten Hag begins his reign at the helm of Manchester United, a new dawn is on the horizon for the Red Devils.

The Dutchman’s project will require a balance of youth and experience, skill and robustness, development and investment. While the vast majority of players provide one or the other, there is one player that would encapsulate them all: Jude Bellingham.

The 18 year-old England international has quickly become one of the world’s most promising players, following a move to German giants Borussia Dortmund in 2020, aged only 17. The transfer at the time was the record fee for a 17 year-old, with Dortmund paying Birmingham City £22.5 million.

Since this move, Bellingham has displayed the kind of attributes that would be required in a team pushing for domestic and European silverware in the coming years. 

The English central midfielder has made 61 Bundesliga appearances as well as 16 Champions League appearances over the course of two seasons at Dortmund. These appearances have led to a combined six goals and 15 assists over both competitions.

This last season was where the majority of those contributes came, where Bellingham had four goals and 11 assists.

These numbers better both Scott McTominay and Fred this campaign, with two and eight goals/assists respectively in those competitions.

While these numbers may appear to be relatively average when compared with those of players already at Old Trafford, Bellingham’s value comes in his ability to dictate the tempo of play and provide an effective transition between attack and defence.

This is something United have struggled with over the last season, with there often being a problem in moving the ball up the pitch into effective areas.

Bellingham’s ability to link up play will complement Ten Hag’s style of play, with the Dutchman adamant on patient build up play, it would prove crucial to United’s success should Bellingham be implemented into the side.

In addition to this, the 4-3-3 formation favoured by Ten Hag is a formation used on numerous occasions by Dortmund throughout the 21/22 season. Bellingham would therefore be able to adequately slot into this system and demonstrate his ability without the strain of learning a drastically new style.

While the synergy between a Ten Hag system and Bellingham make the idea of landing the English talent attractive enough, his potential drastically furthers this.

The 18 year-old has already accumulated two years of top tier European football experience, as well as a number of games in the UCL and for the England senior team. This experience will allow for his accelerated development as he approaches his early twenties.

Should United sign him in next summer window, he would only have just turned 20 when the season begins, meaning there United would be able to mould his play style around their project for the years to come.

Ten Hag’s reputation for developing players of all ages, especially those in their youth, further highlights the sensible nature of this move, as Bellingham’s young age would maximise the value United would be able to get out of him should he be signed. 

This development would benefit Manchester United over the course of 5 years, with Bellingham hitting his peak towards the end of these years. This time frame would allow for Ten Hag’s philosophy to take a firm grasp of the club and the squas to be moulded to his vision.

The club would be able to build the team around Bellingham in the middle of the pitch, with other young stars such as Anthony Elanga and Jadon Sancho already having an established position at the club, with hopes that Ten Hag’s renowned ability for player development will be exercised on Sancho.

This project would reflect a similar project undertaken at Liverpool in the Premier League, with Liverpool achieving the European and domestic successes that should be the level aspired to by Manchester United.

With any potential move for Bellingham coming in the summer window following the 22/23 season, it is imperative United secure UCL football for the following season to land the England star.

The potential for a player with such ability to join Old Trafford indicates towards a bright future for United under Ten Hag.