Jude Bellingham has the world at his feet. It’s so easy to forget that he’s still only 20 years old. Since making his senior debut just four years ago for boyhood club Birmingham City, he has established himself as one of the best midfielders in the game, and his talent appears limitless.
His journey to stardom has rocketed at an unprecedented rate, as he rapidly becomes one of the most talked-about and admired players around the planet.
There’s good reason his signature was coveted by the biggest clubs. He combines natural ability with the personality that will see him sit among football’s elite for a long time to come. It’s for all of those reasons and more that he has made an effortless step up from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid.
When a player of Bellingham’s age makes a lucrative move to a football powerhouse, and then wears the famous No.5 shirt of Zinedine Zidane, it would be ordinary for some caution to be expressed – but he has immediately put any concerns to bed with an impressive start to life as a Galactico.
Blancos team-mate Dani Carvajal, who has spent 20 years at Real Madrid as man and boy, admitted that he has never seen a player adjust to the club’s dressing room as Bellingham has. He clearly isn’t overawed; indeed, he thrives on the pressure. He owns the crowd, and he owns the pitch.
Bellingham became the first Real Madrid player to score in each of his opening four games since five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo managed it in 2009. His late, match-clinching efforts – a common theme from his first months in Spain – have saved his new team’s blushes several times already. On his Champions League debut for Madrid, he bagged another late winner, again showing he’s happy to rise to the occasion.
There’s just something a bit special about the boy from Stourbridge. It’s rare to come across a player who not only has immense prowess on the field, but the personality to match. He has an aura – the type you hear about when supporters discuss meeting their heroes. Whatever it is, Bellingham has it in abundance.
As a teenager, I remember seeing Steven Gerrard play for England on television with my dad and thinking he was different to the other players around him. Now, 20 years on, I’ve been fortunate to be pitchside watching Bellingham have a similar impact in Gareth Southgate’s team.
He strolls around the pitch with so much control, ease and purpose. He has endless energy, mesmerising skill, finesse and the versatility to adapt to almost every midfield role. He’s quickly become the heartbeat of the England XI; the complete footballer.
Less than 12 months ago the youngster headed home his first international goal for England, at the World Cup in Qatar, and yet it doesn’t seem premature to be talking him up as a future skipper already. In interviews he speaks with assurance, with a voice you can imagine inspiring a team to victory. How refreshing it is, in a modern football world, to see a player of this quality conduct himself with a maturity beyond his years.
It’s evident that he sets extremely high standards for himself – standards that have built the foundations for his career to flourish. His unwavering consistency for his clubs and his country only point to things getting better for Bellingham.
Playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, under the tutelage of one of the world’s greatest managers in Carlo Ancelotti, has to be a massive positive for his ongoing development, and therefore for the Three Lions.
Football divides opinion, but in Bellingham there is a player who appears to earn plaudits from all fans. He’s on the Ballon d’Or shortlist this year, and you wouldn’t bet against him winning it relatively soon.
This is a man whose first club, Birmingham, chose to retire his No.22 shirt when he left as a teenager, in respect for a player they felt would go on to become a global sensation. The Blues weren’t wrong.
It’s tough to envision a ceiling for a player who has it all. In Jude Bellingham, there is every attribute to hint that we are watching the evolution of a generational talent, and a captain of England in waiting.
More columns from Jules Breach
England have shown they have resolve to dig in for major victories ahead of Euro 2024
Messi Mania is making its mark in Miami and the Argentinean is set to break records at his new club
