Real Madrid battling Bayern Munich for 'best young English player since Jude Bellingham' amid Man Utd interest

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are reportedly battling it out to sign a player dubbed as one of the best young stars since Jude Bellingham.

Bellingham came through the academy at Birmingham City before playing a full season of Championship football after turning 16.

He originally started out being played as a left midfielder to adapt to professional football, before moving into his preferred central midfield position by the end of the 2019/20 season.

Now, of course, Bellingham is one of the best midfielders in world football at Real Madrid, having enjoyed a three-year spell at Borussia Dortmund after joining them in 2020.

One of the many clubs that were interested in signing him before he decided to join Dortmund was Manchester United.

Then manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted on an episode of The Overlap that Bellingham went on a tour of United's training ground - with legends such as Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and Wayne Rooney enlisted to convince the youngster that a move to Old Trafford was the right one.

But that move never materialised - and they may now miss out on a player dubbed as the next Bellingham.

As per HITC, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are leading the race to sign Sunderland wonderkid Chris Rigg.

The 17-year-old has, like Bellingham, played his formative years in the second tier of English football.

He made his senior debut at the age of 15 in an FA Cup tie against Shrewsbury Town in January 2023.

Getty

Rigg has started three of Sunderland's four league matches under new head coach Regis Le Bris, and is currently on international duty with England U18. His contract expires in the summer of 2027.

He had the chance to join United in the summer of 2023, but he decided to stay at the Stadium of the Light instead and signed a scholarship contract.

The creative midfielder made significant strides under the stewardship of Tony Mowbray, who handed him his senior debut, and broke into the squad on a regular basis at the beginning of this year.