Premier League

BRYAN ROBSON has revealed that he and Eric Cantona thought they’d successfully convinced Jude Bellingham to join Manchester United.Bellingham, along with his parents, visited United’s Carrington training base in March 2020.Bryan Robson explained him and Cantona failed to secure Jude BellinghamRobson said him and Cantona fumbled the pitch with a ‘rubbish’ speechCredit: AFPThe pair were convinced Bellingham would join UnitedCredit: RexHowever, despite their efforts, the Red Devils were usurped by Borussia Dortmund who later sold him to Real Madrid for £88.5million.Bellingham has gone on to become a key figure for both club and country, and is set to play a big role for England at Euro 2024.His progress has left United with a real sense of what could have been, having offered Birmingham £30m in January 2020. United have lacked a midfield general but could have potentially landed the 20-year-old if not for a “rubbish” pitch.READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWSRobson and Cantona have taken the blame for failing to convince Bellingham that Old Trafford should’ve been his next home.Robson – who made 300 appearances for United and won two league titles – admitted that the pair thought Bellingham would sign on the dotted line.Robson told The Telegraph: “It was really disappointing. We were at Carrington and Sir Alex Ferguson was there a little earlier than I was.”Eric and I met him, and his mum and dad, and we were chatting away.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKER”It was really looking promising that he was going to be signing for Manchester United… me and Eric did a rubbish job as he signed for Borussia! We thought we had him in the bag!”Reports have also suggested that football director John Murtough – who resigned this week – was partly to blame for United not landing Bellingham.Murtough reportedly could have made a more compelling case for first-team minutes – a factor which was clearly hugely important to the youngster.Bellingham, of course, joined Dortmund instead and excelled in Germany before featuring as captain at aged 19.Since joining Real Madrid in the summer, he has scored 16 goals from 23 LaLiga appearances.England 2 Belgium 2: Jude Bellingham’s last-gasp leveller saves Gareth Southgate’s blushes after lacklustre displayMeanwhile, Robson, 67, beamed over the impressive performances of United starlet Kobbie Mainoo.He added: “I love the lad’s temperament. I see him at the training ground and he is always polite to everyone. That is a great start.”Mainoo, 18, is set to sign a bumper new contract in the summer. More

CHELSEA have made a major breakthrough in its mission to transform Stamford Bridge.BlueCo have completed the acquisition of a 1.9-acre site, which houses the Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions.Chelsea have made a breakthrough in their aim to transform Stamford BridgeCredit: EPAChelsea and Stoll have been consulting with the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Council over the purchase and contracts have been exchanged.However, the purchase will exclude the 400 block that will be retained by Stoll.Chelsea’s chief operating officer, Jason Gannon, said: “We appreciate the opportunity to work with Stoll throughout a competitive tender process, and we are pleased to help ensure those veterans that wish to remain inside the Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham will be able to do so.”Our thanks go to both Stoll and the local council, whose leadership has been essential to the process.”READ MORE IN FOOTBALLThe land is believed to have cost the club £80million and will come under their ownership in 2025.The purchase has been seen as controversial as around 100 military veterans and war widows live there and were keen to stay.Fuming vets had applied for an injunction to stop the Stoll charity trustees from making the sale.However, it was unsuccessful, with Chelsea now completing the acquisition.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERSHammersmith and Fulham Council Deputy Leader Ben Coleman has insisted that a suitable site has been found for the veterans so no one will be made homelessHe said: “When we found out about the plight of the Stoll veterans, I asked Chelsea to pause the sale until Stoll had agreed to make no one homeless and work with the council on finding a suitable site in Fulham that kept the community together. A look at Chelsea’s forgotten wonderkids”I’m extremely grateful to Chelsea for agreeing to do so and for the way they have worked with us to find a solution that puts the interests of the vets first.”The Board of Trustees for Stoll has announced that it is concluding heads of terms with St William Homes to purchase 128 affordable housing properties in a major new housing development at King’s Road Park in Fulham.Stoll chief executive, Will Campbell-Wroe, said: “The completion of the sale marks a transformational moment for Stoll and forms a central part of our long-standing mission to house and support many more veterans to lead fulfilling, independent lives both now and in the future.”We understand that any transition to a new home will be challenging for many of our residents, and we are committed to providing every resident with an enhanced programme of financial, wellbeing and rehousing support – as we have been throughout this process. “The properties at King’s Road Park will provide a higher standard of living along with being more comfortable, sustainable and energy efficient.”For those residents who choose to move somewhere other than a Stoll property, we will provide them with 12 months of support, including helping them to find a new home.”Those that move to another Stoll property will remain on the same tenancy they are on now and will continue to receive the same level of support that we have always provided.”To be clear, no veteran at the Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions will be left without a home. “We are also very grateful to Chelsea for its longstanding support for Stoll, through ongoing fundraising initiatives like its Big Stamford Bridge Sleep Out, and its support of the veterans throughout this process.”We look forward to continuing to develop this positive partnership with the club.”Chelsea want to build a new 55,000-capacity ground to keep up with their rivals commercially with the new owners hoping for a staged rebuild of the Bridge, with the stands replaced and upgraded one by one.That transformation would also see the hotel behind the Shed End bulldozed.Architect Janet Marie Smith, who has worked on a host of stadium renovations in America, has been hired to oversee the monumental task of rebuilding Chelsea’s famous ground.Smith’s projects include Baltimore’s Oriole Park, Atlanta’s Olympic Stadium, the Boston Red Sox’s Fenway Park and Dodger Stadium in LA.It is expected that the Blues will spend up to £2billion on the transformation of the 147-year-old ground.The previous plans for the club included moving to a new site in London.One plan was a shock move to a 60,000-seater stadium in Earl’s Court.READ MORE SUN STORIESAnother was a relocation to Battersea Power Station as former owner Roman Abramovich made a bid to buy it in 2012 as he plotted to keep the building’s four chimneys as part of a design which included a 15,000-seat single-tier south stand.But that plan ended when a Malaysian consortium bought the site for £400m. More