It has become a case of what could have been at Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement when it comes to the players they have been linked with but ultimately not signed and then seen move elsewhere.
Since Sir Alex bowed out at United in 2013 with the Premier League title, the Old Trafford club have fallen from grace and gone a decade without a Premier League title.
The best they have managed in that time is finishing runners-up on two occasions, once under Jose Mourinho and another time under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
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And under the Norwegian, United ultimately missed out on a player who has gone on to become one of the brightest stars in the world.
Jude Bellingham burst onto the scene when he made his debut at Birmingham City as a 16-year-old in 2019, playing one season for his boyhood club before securing a £25 million transfer to German side Borussia Dortmund.
After three seasons in the Bundesliga, during which time he has also gone on to become a regular for Gareth Southgate's England, Bellingham made the move to Spain to sign for Real Madrid in an overall €133.9 million deal.
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His time with Los Blancos could not have gone much better so far - Bellingham scored 14 goals in his first 15 games for the Santiago Bernabeu side and, in the process, broke a record which had been jointly held by Pruden, Alfredo Di Stefano and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Back in 2020 when Bellingham was still with Birmingham, Borussia Dortmund and United were the two favourites for his signature, with the Old Trafford side even reportedly having a bid of £20 million turned down that January.
And now it has emerged how Sir Alex was 'furious' with a United executive for their role in the ultimately failed bid to lure Bellingham to Old Trafford.
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According to the Athletic, Solskjaer enlisted Sir Alex in March 2020 to help that become a reality, with the Norwegian preparing a analytical presentation to show Bellingham what he would add to United, with the legendary former boss adding a personal finishing touch to the pitch.
It is reported that Sir Alex shook hands with the then 16-year-old Bellingham but, rather than being given time to talk to the prospect, football director John Murtough then guided the midfielder and his parents out of that room for a tour of the United facilities.
Sir Alex was reportedly 'incandescent' at this incident and told Murtough to his face at a later date, though the latter has denied he interrupted any meeting.
A case of what could have been at United.
Featured Image Credit: GettyTopics: Jude Bellingham, Manchester United, Manchester United Transfer News & Rumours, Real Madrid, Birmingham City, Borussia Dortmund