Manchester United wanted to sign Southampton star before he joined the club | OneFootball

Manchester United wanted to sign young Southampton defender Armel Bella-Kotchap before he joined the club during the summer transfer window.

Bella-Kotchap signed for Southampton during the summer transfer window. Despite being just 20 years old, the German defender has already become a key figure in the Southampton side.

So much so that he was recently called up to the German senior squad and could face England on Monday night.

However, it could have been a different career path if Manchester United chose to secure one of Ralf Rangnick’s targets, with The Sun reporting that United were interested in signing Bella-Kotchap when Rangnick was in charge.

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The report claims that Chelsea also tried to sign the highly-rated defender, but Southampton eventually secured his signature during the summer.

Southampton are a club willing to take risks on young players, with the likes of Romeo Lavia, Gavin Bazunu, and Bella-Kotchap all given a chance to impress this season despite their ages.

The bigger clubs such as Manchester United would prefer to sign ready-made stars, but as we’ve seen in the past, they won’t be afraid of poaching these youngsters once they prove themselves in the Premier League.