Jude Bellingham is expected to move to the Premier League this summer (Picture: Getty Images)
Rio Ferdinand insists that Manchester United would be a better option for Jude Bellingham than Liverpool if he leaves Borussia Dortmund this summer, given the trajectories of the two teams.
Bellingham is expected to leave the German club this year, with most of Europe’s top teams interested in signing the England midfielder.
United and Liverpool are just two clubs who want the 19-year-old, with the likes of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea all thought to be interested in him as well.
Whoever gets Bellingham will have to stump up an enormous transfer fee – possibly over £100m – and then convince the midfielder that they are the right club for him.
Liverpool have been thought to be winning the race to sign the teenager, but Ferdinand thinks Manchester United will be a more attractive prospect at the end of the season.
The former United star sees the Red Devils as clearly improving under Erik ten Hag, while he sees Liverpool as struggling under Jurgen Klopp, and this could make the difference in the transfer hunt.
‘If you put the two teams on a graph, Manchester United are going in one direction and Liverpool have stagnated,’ Ferdinand told BBC Radio 5 Live.
‘I wouldn’t say Liverpool are in decline, but other teams are catching them up and maybe going beyond them. If I’m a player, say Jude Bellingham or Declan Rice – two of the most in-demand English midfielders that may get moves this summer – and someone says, “Manchester United or Liverpool, where are you going?”, forget my Manchester United ties, I have to go with United right now.
‘The way the team looks, the way the squad is shaping up, the way the managers are navigating their teams’ fortunes and who I see being more successful in the upcoming future – I really would be sitting on the side of United.’
MORE : Jude Bellingham ‘surprised’ by Chelsea error after Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League win
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
‘Forget my Manchester United ties, I have to go with United.’