Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reveals truth over Man United’s Bellingham and Rice transfer pursuit

Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed that Jude Bellingham was “in the building” prior to his move to Borussia Dortmund.

Solskjaer also admitted the club “should’ve gone for” Arsenal star Declan Rice, with both England international midfielders enjoying a meteoric rise to the top of world football.

The Real Madrid and Arsenal stars would walk into virtually every starting XI in world football and were highly sought after transfer targets ahead of their moves to their respective clubs.

The chance to sign players of their ilk does not come around often, with fans desperate for their clubs to take the opportunity to snatch up world class players no matter how much it costs.

Both Rice and Bellingham commanded transfer fees totalling in excess of £100million ($127m), something that very few clubs could afford in reality.

And Solskjaer has now revealed that the price-tag would not necessarily have been a stumbling block for Man United when it came to signing Bellingham, but that the then-teenager had his heart set on a move to Borussia Dortmund.

Manchester United had Jude Bellingham ‘in the building’

“Jude [Bellingham], he was in the building,” Solskjaer told the Stick to Football podcast. “I was there, Sir Alex Ferguson was there, Bryan Robson and Eric Cantona were all there that day when he came to the club.

“We all spoke to him and sold it as well as he could. He knew what he wanted a certain amount of minutes in the first team.

“He was 17 at the time, and he was the most mature 17-year-old I’ve ever met – he had it all planned out.”

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Solskjaer: Man United should have signed Declan Rice

And if not to rub salt in the wounds of Manchester United fans further, their former manager went on to admit that the club should have gone after Arsenal star Rice long before his move to the Gunners.

“I really like him [Declan Rice] as a player,” he added. “We’ve discussed him a few times, and I think we would’ve done well with him in midfield.

“His legs, covering the pitch, and I think he improved a lot on his playmaking as well. Obviously, he would’ve cost some money, but we could’ve and should’ve gone for him.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjær was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.