Jude Bellingham proved right over Man Utd transfer decision as European stats laid bare

Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham decided not to join Manchester United in 2020 - and a new table adds more evidence that the call has paid off.

The 19-year-old was shown around United's Carrington training ground in 2019, while still on the books at Championship side Birmingham.

Having broken through into the Blues first team that year, becoming their youngest ever player and goalscorer, it quickly became apparent that Bellingham would move on in the following summer.

He decided to embark on a European adventure with Dortmund, spurning advances from United in the process.

Former Birmingham CEO Xuandong Ren told Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo last year that both United and Chelsea had attempted to sign Bellingham, offering huge salaries in the process.

Furthermore, he added that Bayern produced a last-ditch offer for the player after he decided on Dortmund, but Bellingham did not change his mind.

Now, new statistics show that his decision, in one sense at least, was absolutely correct.

New stats prove Bellingham transfer decision correct

In a new table published by the CIES Football Observatory, Dortmund are shown to have given the highest percentage of minutes to players under 20 in Europe's top five leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1) between April 2018 and March 2023. They have given 12.5 per cent of minutes to 15 U20 players.

Bellingham's move, therefore, has certainly paid off, with the 19-year-old quickly becoming one of Dortmund's key players after signing.

His three years at Signal Iduna Park have allowed him to develop into one of the world's top midfielders, and a move to United this summer could represent his next career step.

But United do not even rank within the top 20 clubs for highest percentage of minutes to under-20 players. In fact, the only English club within that metric are Arsenal, who gave 4.5 per cent of minutes to nine players.