MyOnlySolskjaer
Creator of Player Performance threads
I'll kick this off with a couple.
Eden Hazard (2012)
Jude Bellingham (2020)
In the spring of 2020 United hosted Bellingham and his family at their Carrington training ground and brought in some of their leading figures to help persuade him, including their greatest ever manager Sir Alex Ferguson, and one of their greatest ever players Eric Cantona. The club believed they were close to agreeing personal terms with him and were highly confident he would sign.
However, the factors of playing time and development were at the forefront of Bellingham’s mind and led to him ultimately opting to move to Germany. As United already had Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay, Fred, Nemanja Matic and Bruno Fernandes in central midfield, Bellingham was concerned he would only get limited playing time when he believed he was ready to become a first team regular.
Eden Hazard (2012)
Alex Ferguson said:I came to watch Lille play Lyon and followed Hazard of course, along with other players. He is a very good player who has many qualities. He is particularly fast over the first 10 yards.
Eden Hazard said:When they won the Champions League I told myself, ‘Why not Chelsea?'” There was a struggle between Chelsea and United but, for me, Chelsea has the best project. It’s a wonderful club.
Jude Bellingham (2020)
In the spring of 2020 United hosted Bellingham and his family at their Carrington training ground and brought in some of their leading figures to help persuade him, including their greatest ever manager Sir Alex Ferguson, and one of their greatest ever players Eric Cantona. The club believed they were close to agreeing personal terms with him and were highly confident he would sign.
However, the factors of playing time and development were at the forefront of Bellingham’s mind and led to him ultimately opting to move to Germany. As United already had Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay, Fred, Nemanja Matic and Bruno Fernandes in central midfield, Bellingham was concerned he would only get limited playing time when he believed he was ready to become a first team regular.
Jude Bellingham said:The way they integrate young players into the first-team squad is next level. There is not a club in Europe that does it quite like them.