Jude met me off the Millwall team bus last season and said thanks for everything. English football has uncovered a true diamond
WHEN Millwall’s team coach pulled into St Andrew’s last season, boss Gary Rowett was surprised to see one of Birmingham City’s players waiting for it to park up.
The Lions’ boss disembarked and was immediately greeted by Jude Bellingham.
“I didn’t even think he’d remember me,” said Rowett. “He shook my hand and said: ‘ Thanks for everything.’
“I was a bit embarrassed. I hadn’t done much – and told him so. He replied that it was the little things I’d done which had made the difference.
“I was a bit taken aback. And then I saw him play against us and realised that what they were saying about him all those years ago had come true.”
Rewind five years to Rowett’s (right) arrival at St Andrew’s and the teenager, who became England’s third-youngest player this week, had hardly started secondary school. But, in certain circles, the word about this footballing prodigy was already out.
Rowett added: “When I was appointed at Birmingham, it was during the season. I had to get up to speed quickly. I needed to know about the young players so
I asked the academy boss,
Kristjaan Speakman, to put together clips of them and I’d take a look at them on my
Mac.
“One of them caught my eye – but he was only
11 or something like that – and I didn’t know anything about him. So I asked Kristjaan and he said: ‘ That’s the most sought-after kid in Europe.’
“I thought to myself: ‘ Wow, that’s some statement.’ And then I learnt every major club here and abroad – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, the list went on – had been to see Jude play.
“After that, we organised elite player training sessions for him, which I took and I also had him into the manager’s office before and after first-team games. But, to be honest, he wasn’t my primary concern.
“Clearly, he wasn’t going to influence the first-team for a few years but it was important that he felt comfortable and that he was challenged to improve.
“And that was about the extent of it. I can’t claim to have had a hand in his development any more than that. So, when I turned
up at St Andrew’s, I have to be honest, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he hadn’t remembered me at all. Afterwards I thought about what had happened and about the maturity he had shown.
“He wasn’t a flash footballer – and I’ve seen so many like that – I just thought to myself: ‘ This boy’s got an incredible chance if that’s what he’s like.’ He was only 16 at the time.”
Richard Beale, who has overseen the development of a conveyor-belt of talent such as Jack Butland, Nathan Redmond and Demarai Gray, had no doubt what was in front of him.
Beale moved through the ranks, eventually becoming the reserves’ boss and had direct input on the player’s development.
He said: “Jude joined us at the age of eight. It was very clear from the first time you saw him that he was very good. He stood out.
“What do I mean by that? Well, he was very dominant in one-onones, he handled the ball very well.
“People often ask: ‘How can you tell these youngsters are going to be good players?’ The answer is that the very good ones – and I’ve been fortunate to work with the likes of Nathan, Demarai and Jack – cope with anything and everything that is put in front of them.
“Ask them to move up an age group and they learn and respond. Ask them to repeat it – and they do.
“Eventually, I was in and around the first-team boys but I constantly heard noises from the academy about how Jude was tearing it up.
“We put him in with the Under23s when he was just 15 years old. He didn’t just cope with it. He was pretty much the best player on the park after a few games.
“At one point, he’d scored four in four matches as a 15-year-old, playing against people who were years older than him. There wasn’t a big club in this country or abroad who weren’t aware of him. And if they weren’t, they should have been.
“It’s at that point, when you’re watching him and it’s all crystallising in front of you that you really know. As a coach, you just know that you are privileged to be seeing something special. He’s a smashing lad as well. You’d be hardpushed at Birmingham City to hear anyone say a bad word about him.”
If there is one question that remains open for debate it is as to the youngster’s best position.
Beale said the answer will be obvious as he matures.
“He can do anything,” said the former Brum coach. “He can play as a holding midfielder or you can ask him to play from box-to-box. He played out wide for Birmingham’s first-team last season.
“I think he will just play in central midfield. He times his runs so well, connects play, he can finish. He will be running the show for England in a few years, I’m sure.”
Rowett is another who needs no convincing.
“What stands out is his maturity,” he said, “in pretty much all he does.
“On the pitch, you can see it all. The ability, the physicality, the athleticism. But it’s his maturity as a person that impressed me.
“It’s the lad himself. If he shows that kind of grounded attitude throughout the rest of his career, English football will have uncovered a true diamond.”
YOUNG ONE Theo Walcott on his debut in May 2006