Manchester United have put together a £20million package to land Jude Bellingham, but any move for the Birmingham City starlet will wait until the summer.
The 16-year-old is considered a perfect fit for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s cultural reboot at Old Trafford, but United’s priority on deadline day is to bring in an emergency striker.
It is believed Birmingham will demand more for their most prized asset, who is also a target for Borussia Dortmund and a host of clubs around Europe.
Solskjaer is still hoping to do some business before the January window closes at 11pm GMT on Friday night, with a deal for Josh King still a possibility.
While the Bournemouth striker would be a short-term solution to fill the void left by Marcus Rashford’s injury, Bellingham is seen as a long-term prospect.
United are desperate to win the race for the midfielder’s signature. It’s believed they have proposed a deal rising up to £20m with an up-front fee of £8.5m.
A further £5m would be payable after 50 appearances and £2m for his first goal.
A final add-on of £4.5m would be dependent on United qualifying for the Champions League.
United sources indicated there was no chance of a deal being struck on deadline day, but he remains very much in Solskjaer’s plans.
“I am not sure,” Solskjaer said on Friday morning. “I don’t expect any more business to be done. I don’t think anything is going to happen.
“Sometimes I say something here and something else happens. Sometimes I say I am happy with a player and he gets a different message, so I don’t want to help or make speculations grow more and more today.
“I expect nothing to happen, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.”
