THE FUTURE

Bellingham has broken records from the start of his career and looks sure to be a superstar

JUDE BELLINGHAM has been breaking records since day one.

He was just 16 years and 38 days when he became Birmingham City’s youngestever first-team player.

He became football’s most expensive 17-year-old when he joined Borussia Dortmund for £30million.

Now he’s making history for England, becoming the youngest-ever player to feature in a World Cup qualifier, as a half-time substitute against San Marino.

He is a special, generational talent (in action for Dortmund and Birmingham, below) who glides across midfield like Steven Gerrard in his pomp and has got the potential to become a Three Lions great.

Gareth Southgate clearly has tremendous faith in the teenage midfielder and the England boss certainly has a different quality of young player at his disposal than when he took over 50 games ago.

This is not a striker on the fringes of games, not a substitute, but a starter who shines in central midfield, which is why Bellingham, 17, now looks guaranteed to make the Euros squad.

Southgate said: “If you compare it to the game 50 matches ago, we weren’t able to move the ball in the way that we did. Those youngsters are getting into really good habits with their clubs and they are playing with top players every day.

“They are seeing the very best, close at hand. The only disappointment for Jude is that he is not playing in front of 80,000 fans at Dortmund every week.

“But we saw in his games against Sevilla a level of performance and commitment that really made us think, ‘We want to help him to develop now under us’.

“It might be that there are moments where he is in the Under-21s again. But we felt this was a good opportunity to work with the seniors.”

TV pundit Roy Keane even called Southgate “lucky” for having so much talent at his disposal and that is borne out by an increase in homegrown starters in the Premier League this season.

Having dipped below 30 per cent in the past, it has reached as high as 94 starters (42.73 per cent) eligible to play for England.

Southgate added: “We have increased the pool of players available to us.

Rather than go with tried and tested

Premier League players, we have looked at some who might not be ready to win now, but might be ready for that in the future.

“England has always had a lot of good players. We have been to major championships before with a team full of players who have won the Champions League.

“We haven’t got that situation. But what we have got are some exciting

players.”

THE one person who has never raised an eyebrow at Pep Guardiola’s management of Phil Foden is… Phil Foden.

Over the past couple of seasons, they have been queuing up outside every available TV studio to tell the Manchester City midfielder he must demand more game-time or even ask for a loan move.

There is now a similar queue to laud Guardiola’s magnificent handling of such a precocious talent.

But they are all rewriting history.

Only Pep and Phil had faith. And with every dreamy contribution from the 20-yearold, they are being proved right.

“I have always been calm, trusting the process at City,” explained Foden (top right, with Guardiola). “But I can’t lie. It’s been a big year for me. I am playing more minutes than last season and improving my goal ratio, so I can kick on from here.

“It’s hard to say I feel unstoppable but I feel like I am full of confidence. Is this the most confident I have felt in my career? Probably, yes.”

No wonder. If there is such a thing as a pecking order at the Etihad, Foden has moved up it and, judging by recent decisions, might even be ahead of Raheem Sterling (the pair training with England, below).

That is yet to be the case at international level but it may not be far off. Fitting Foden into his starting XI is just one of the conundrums facing Southgate, who appears blessed with a wealth of options in the attacking midfield department. Even 17-year-old Jude Bellingham stated his case in a 45-minute cameo against the hapless San Marino.

The clamour is already for Foden to start England’s first game of the Euros – against Croatia – but the City man (left) knows selection will not be easy for Southgate. He said: “There are so many great talents in the attacking third that I feel sorry for him a bit, having to pick 11.

“If I don’t get picked, I will just keep working hard and try and improve. I have got a lot to improve.”

While Foden’s confidence might already be sky high, it will go through the stratosphere if City can pull off an unprecedented clean sweep.

And while he does not mention the Q-word, it is clear what Foden has in mind.

He said: “Pep is really good with that, trying to not think too far ahead.

“He is always saying to everyone, ‘Just focus on the next game’.

“But, for sure, the lads are going to think about it. It could be one of the best seasons in City’s history if we pull that off.

“Hopefully, we will win the league and maybe a couple more trophies this year.

“That would give me the confidence to push on and be in the England team, for sure.”

Foden will be hoping for a starting berth against the Albanians in Tirana tomorrow, but also has one eye on the big Euro occasion looming this summer.

He added: “I’ve had the experience of playing in a final (the Under-17s World Cup) and in big games so I feel like I am ready to play in big tournaments and handle the pressure.

“So I am always ready. Hopefully I get picked.”

There will be a national outcry if he isn’t.