Manchester United continue to be linked with Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham ahead of a potentially busy summer transfer window at Old Trafford.
With a new permanent manager set to be appointed, United could start the rebuilding of their squad this summer, with the midfield one of the areas that could be strengthened. Along with other midfielders like Declan Rice and Youri Tielemans, United have also been continually linked with England international Bellingham.
Before his £25m move to Dortmund from Birmingham City, United showed a clear desire to bring the then-17-year-old to Old Trafford, with United even giving Bellingham a tour of their training ground in March 2020. Two years on, the midfielder is reportedly valued at around £100m by his current side.
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So, if Bellingham was to make the move to United in the summer, what sort of impact could he have? We simulated the 2022/23 season with Bellingham in the United squad and this is what happened.
We 'signed' Jude Bellingham for Man United in July 2022
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Bellingham to join United at the start of the summer transfer window, using FM22 to run the simulation. We also made Mauricio Pochettino United manager. This is how Bellingham's in-game profile looks on FM22.
Described by FM22 as a driven wonderkid, Bellingham has a well-rounded profile on FM22 for a central midfielder, with all of his attributes rated highly. His best attributes are his bravery (18), determination (18) and work rate (17), with his mental and physical attributes his strongest areas.
Let's take a look at how Bellingham performed throughout the 2022/23 season after signing for United in the summer. The 18-year-old made 49 appearances over the course of the season, with only David de Gea (53) and Bruno Fernandes (51) making more appearances for the club, proving to be a reliable and consistent player.
In those 49 appearances, Bellingham grabbed seven goals and four assists, a decent return considering he was deployed as one of the deeper midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation. In all competitions, Bellingham averaged a rating of 7.41 per game, the best in the United squad. Despite having the best average rating per game, he only earned the player of the match award once, with Jadon Sancho and Fernandes both winning it six times each.
Bellingham was the fifth-highest goalscorer at United in the simulation, with Cristiano Ronaldo ending the season as the club's top scorer with 21 goals. He was fifth-best for assists, with Fernandes finishing with the most (16).
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best Man United XI based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what United's best XI looked like at the end of the 2022/23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full United best XI (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Maguire, Shaw; Soler, Bellingham; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Ronaldo.
Bellingham made it into United's best XI for the 2022/23 season, joined by fellow new signing Carlos Soler from Valencia in a double pivot in midfield. Along with the duo, Real Madrid's Toni Kroos and Roma's Tammy Abraham signed for United, though neither made the best XI.
So, how did United perform in the league and cup competitions after signing the 18-year-old in the summer transfer window? Let's take a look.
United's results from the 2022/23 simulation:
United failed to win any cups with Bellingham in the squad, with the furthest United went in any competition being a semi-final. The worst competition for Bellingham's side was the FA Cup, where United lost 3-0 to Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
After winning the first leg 1-0, United lost 3-1 in the second leg to AC Milan in the UEFA Europa League, with AC going on to win the competition. United reached the semi-final of the Carabao Cup where they met fierce rivals Manchester City, but it wasn't to be as goals from Federico Chiesa and Lautaro Martinez handed City a 2-1 win.
Despite an unsuccessful campaign in cup competitions, United did improve in the league with Bellingham in their side, finishing third in the Premier League table. In 38 games, United tallied 74 points, losing just six league games all season.
It was tight in the table with just four points separating Chelsea in fourth and Liverpool in second, but Man City were the outright winners, ending the season 14 points ahead of Liverpool. Interestingly, United made no defensive signings in the summer, but they finished with the third-best defence in the league, and the sixth-best attack.
Overall, this Football Manager 2022 simulation suggests that if United were to sign Bellingham in the summer, the midfielder could become a regular in the squad whilst averaging the best average rating per game at the club. His impact wasn't enough to help United win a trophy, but he helped the club claim a top-four finish in what seemed a strong first year of a major rebuild at United.
Would you like to see Bellingham sign for Man United? Let us know in the comments below.
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