Manchester United open to making second moves for Frenkie de Jong and Jude Bellingham

Manchester United have not closed the door on a second move for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong and could make another pitch to England international Jude Bellingham.

Senior sources at United believe Bellingham, 19, could create history at the club by helping them end their Premier League title drought, set to tick past a decade.

Liverpool and Real Madrid are both interested in Bellingham but United manager Erik ten Hag is such a major admirer he has told confidants that if he could sign any player in the world it would be the Borussia Dortmund midfielder.

Bellingham visited United's Carrington training complex with his parents in March 2020 and a source said the club "rolled out the red carpet" for him.

Some of the existing United staff met Bellingham and, in their analysis of England's World Cup games, believe Bellingham has assumed the box-to-box midfielder role United wanted Paul Pogba to occupy.

Ten Hag is believed to have watched Dortmund's matches this season to keep abreast of Bellingham's development amid the likelihood of his departure next year.

United are conscious of the competition they are bound to face for Bellingham, with Manchester City also keen.

The Manchester Evening News understands Dutch talisman De Jong privately gave his old Ajax coach Ten Hag assurances he was happy to join United, despite publicly stressing his preference was to stay at Barcelona.

United agreed an €85million fee with Barcelona for De Jong in the summer but the issue of the 25-year-old's wage deferral proved to be an insurmountable stumbling block.

Ten Hag regards De Jong as a world-class talent with the requisite character to slot into the United team and offer balance.

Although Ten Hag has settled on an effective midfield axis of summer signings Christian Eriksen and Casemiro, the duo both turn 31 in February and Ten Hag wants a younger creative midfielder.