Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ENGLAND’S REAL DEAL
Jude has taken La Liga by storm since moving to Madrid. Now he’s poised to show what he can do at the European Championship
BY
AFTER Olivier Giroud scored in the 78th minute of the World Cup quarter-final in the Al Bayt Stadium, Gareth Southgate felt compelled to make changes in order to chase a second equaliser.
On came Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount, soon followed by Marcus Rashford.
And the players replaced? Bukayo Saka, Jordan Henderson and Phil Foden.
Jude Bellingham, who was closer to 19 years of age than he was to 20 at the time, was left in the fray, even though he had not enjoyed a productive night.
Even then, Southgate knew Bellingham was a player who could make a difference in the biggest moments.
The blunt truth is that he did not do that against France in Qatar and, even at a tender age, that riled Bellingham, that annoyed Bellingham, that gave him a wrong to right.
He did not use age as an excuse. Since then, of course, Bellingham has blossomed in a way even his most ardent admirers from the Birmingham City and Borussia Dortmund days could not wholly imagine.
His performances for Real Madrid have made him one of the – if not THE – most talked-about players in world football.
And make no mistake, it has made him one of the most targeted. It comes with the territory, of course – and has done throughout football’s history – but the difference-makers are always singled out for special treatment.
Bellingham has been known to react. That is why, still shy of his 21st birthday, he already has well over 40 yellow cards to his name. But he will get protection at Euro 2024 and Southgate will have no worries about a player who matures with every week of his career that passes.
Southgate’s only dilemma will be how best to use Bellingham.
He is such a talent, with such an eye for goal, that if the unthinkable occurred and Harry
Kane was unavailable
– and the manager was not totally convinced about Ollie Watkins or
Ivan Toney – Bellingham could even be used as a false nine.
Even when it was abundantly clear Bellingham was a guaranteed star-in-the-making, few would have predicted his goalscoring impact with Real
Madrid. You only had to look at his clincher against Barcelona in the Bernabeu the week before last – one of three El Clasico goals and one of two winners in the fixture – to realise he is a natural-born predator and finisher.
But it is odds-on Southgate will stick with the formula that will see Declan Rice joined by another defensively-capable midfielder, with Bellingham allowed to rampage through the middle.
After his season with Real, expectations surrounding Bellingham are sky-high, probably too high.
For all his maturity off the pitch, for all his brilliance on it, he is still a young player.
It is not often someone of Bellingham’s age is able to take an international tournament by the scruff of its neck.
But while it hardly needs saying again, this is no ordinary young player. To stride into one of the most pressurised club environments in world football and pretty much own the place, tells you all you need to know about an extraordinary talent.
The encouraging thing for England followers is that they have a handful of world-class players to support – Kane, Rice, Foden – along with a very accomplished supporting cast.
But if they are pinning their greatest hopes on Bellingham, you really cannot blame them.