HE’S THE BELL OF THE BALL

BY

JUDE BELLINGHAM has been hailed as a future England captain by Real Madrid teammate Antonio Rudiger.

Bellingham, who joined Real from Borussia Dortmund last summer in a bumper £115million deal, has enjoyed a sensational first season with the Spanish giants.

The 20-year-old (above) has scored 20 goals and provided 10 assists, with Real eight points clear at the top of La Liga and taking on Manchester

City in the

Champions

League quarter-finals tonight.

Former

Chelsea star

Rudiger admitted he knew little about Bellingham when he joined Real, but said he has been impressed by his maturity and is convinced he will one day be a leader for the Three Lions.

Asked if he was surprised by the ease with which Bellingham had adapted to life at Real, Rudiger said: “At the beginning I was a bit surprised. I didn’t know much about him, to be honest. But – wow! He’s a big personality in our locker room and that’s massive. The way he handles himself is very good.

“He’s only 20 but if you talk to him you feel like this guy has seen everything in life. He’s very mature. I’m sure he’ll be a leader for England. He’s just so professional in everything he does. He’s a good lad.

“I’m not worried for him outside of the pitch because he has great parents who keep his feet on the ground. You have a fantastic player.”

Real boss Carlo Ancelotti admitted he was also surprised by Bellingham’s maturity given the midfielder had just turned 20 when he joined the 14-time European champions. “The key is that he’s really mature,” said Ancelotti (left). “He’s only 20 but he’s more mature than his age. He’s professional, and really humble. We were not surprised by him as a player but as a person we were surprised. For his age, he’s so mature.”

Birmingham-born Bellingham has thrived at Real, playing in a more advanced attacking role which Italian manager Ancelotti believes has brought out the best in him. “Jude has a fantastic ability to arrive in the box at the right time,” said Ancelotti. “This is why he has scored a lot of goals and helped us a lot. He has the ability to do that because physically he’s really strong and he’s also helping us a lot on the defensive aspect.

“He’s doing a lot in front with his mobility to create space and create opportunities.”