Rio Ferdinand urges Manchester United to sign Jude Bellingham next summer

Former Manchester United captain Rio Ferdinand has urged the 20-time English champions to win the race for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham.

The 19-year-old is widely expected to be on the move during next summer's transfer window, with many of the leading clubs in European football said to be competing for his signature.

Liverpool, Manchester City and Real Madrid had seemingly emerged as the three favourites for the midfielder, who impressed for England at the 2022 World Cup.

However, various reports in recent days have claimed that Man United are still firmly in the race for the former Birmingham City youngster.

Ferdinand has said that Bellingham could "help change the culture" at Old Trafford and "take the club to the heights it should be at".

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"Manchester United, bring him here," Ferdinand said on his Vibe with Five podcast. "Make that your home, Jude. You come here and help change the culture and take the club to the heights it should be at.

"Bellingham has been a phenomenon. He has announced himself to the world now that he's a player here to stay. He has got so much growth, room for improvement still, but he absolutely influenced games in an England shirt like we've never seen a teenager do for England."

Bellingham scored once and provided one assist in five appearances at the World Cup, with the Three Lions reaching the quarter-finals of the competition.

The midfielder has also been in impressive form for Dortmund this season, scoring nine goals and contributing three assists in 22 appearances in all competitions.

Since arriving at BVB from Birmingham in July 2020, the youngster has made 112 appearances for the German side, contributing 19 goals and 21 assists in the process.

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Dortmund have the teenager on a contract until June 2025, placing them in a strong position when it comes to any potential negotiations next year.

There have been claims that BVB value him in the region of £150m, which is an asking price that would rule a number of interested clubs out of the running.

"We said it as soon as we saw it, what he's doing in his position, at his age, we haven't seen. The best of our generation, [Frank] Lampard, [Steven] Gerrard, [Paul] Scholes, [Patrick] Vieira, Roy Keane, those guys weren't doing this," Ferdinand told BT Sport following Bellingham's standout performance against Sevilla in the Champions League in October.

"I'm just saying that they weren't doing this. He's still got to go on and prove it and do it over a long period of time. But they weren't doing what he is doing right now. Influencing a game at this level, captaining a team at this level."

Bellingham has captained Dortmund twice this season, first wearing the armband against FC Koln in the Bundesliga on October 1 before again skippering the side against Sevilla four days later in the Champions League.