How Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk played his part in the development of Birmingham City's £50m Manchester United target Jude Bellingham

Premier League giants Manchester United were widely linked with an effort to prize the 16-year-old wonderkid away from the Midlands in January and appear to have designs to revisit the deal in the summer.

And Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk, who left St Andrews in June last year to be replaced by his former assistant Pep Clotet, has explained how he played a key part in the development of the England youth starlet.

“He was training with us in the first team,” he said. “We brought him into the first team and that's when he started training with us.

“That's when we knew at the time the talent he is and the capabilities he has. He's still very, very young and you could see he had a very bright future ahead of him.”

That future appears to be very bright, with the Red Devils, as well as Chelsea, apparently quoted somewhere in the region of £50 million for the youngsters services.

Monk said: “In my time there, he was starting to come into the fold and training with us and getting up to speed with that side of it, being involved in the first team environment while still at school.

“Obviously as the plan would have been anyway, to progress, as he has done this year. He's a fantastic talent, we all knew that, and this experience he is gaining now will be fantastic for him.”