CHRIS WHEELER: Pep was right to say Bellingham has the ‘whole package’ and it was on display against City… he’s a Rolls Royce player and fast emerging as the hottest prospect of his generation
Everything about Jude Bellingham makes you think he is older than 19. The way he looks, the way he plays, the way he talks.
‘The oldest 19-year-old I’ve managed,’ smiles Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic.
At the stage of his career when most teenagers are hoping for a first-team breakthrough, this was Bellingham’s 21st Champions League game of a hugely promising career – although, in his head, he’s played many more.
Jude Bellingham is enjoying his best season yet as a professional with Borussia Dortmund
The teenager once again starred as Dortmund held Manchester City to a goalless draw
‘Growing up, it was always my biggest dream to play in the Champions League,’ he told BT Sport before Tuesday’s Group G tie against Manchester City.
‘We had a patch of grass outside our house (in Stourbridge). We must have played a thousand Champions League finals on that little patch of grass.
‘People always say how mature I am but I don’t really see it. At home I’m like any normal kid. I want to have a laugh I want to mess around a little bit.
‘But I look at myself sometimes and think I can do more. I want to push the boundaries of my potential and keep reaching for the next dreams.’ One of the benefits of joining Dortmund from Birmingham City two years ago is that Bellingham has been given more opportunities than he would in the Premier League.
He is Borussia’s leading scorer this season with eight goals – this was the first Champions League game in which he hasn’t scored – and even captained the team earlier this month.
Bellingham did his defensive work at one point tracking back to nick the ball off Erling Haaland
Like Erling Haaland before him, Bellingham will surely soon outgrow Dortmund. His market value is already estimated to be north of £100million.
He is so prominent in Liverpool’s thoughts that when Jurgen Klopp wanted a midfielder in the summer, he brought in Arthur Melo on loan from Juventus rather than make a permanent signing that could cut across a move for Bellingham next year.
Chelsea and Real Madrid are other options, although Bellingham can pretty much take his pick. ‘To be that mature at that age is frightening,’ said BT Sport pundit Owen Hargreaves. ‘Everybody is going to want him. He walks into Barcelona, Real Madrid, anyone.’ And then there’s City. On the eve of this game, Pep Guardiola said Bellingham had ‘the whole package’ and it was in evidence again here in a rather cagey encounter in Germany.
One minute, Bellingham was chasing back to nick the ball off Haaland or dispossess Joao Cancelo on the other side of the pitch, the next he was sending Karim Adeyemi away with a wonderful pass or driving at the City defence.
England star Bellingham is fast emerging as the hottest prospect of his generation
Many believe Bellingham should start for England at this winter’s World Cup in Qatar
He is a Rolls Royce of a player in the way he glides across the pitch or suddenly accelerates to top speed. Technically, he is first-class.
He is not afraid to call out his teammates either. As early as the fifth minute, he threw his arms in the air in frustration when Youssoufa Moukoko didn’t give him a simple pass.
It was the same when Adeyemi galloped through on goal but went for glory himself instead of squaring to Bellingham who was much better placed.
He’s certainly not your average teenager, and for that England can be very thankful.
Bellingham is fast emerging as the hottest prospect of his generation, and that’s saying something when you consider the competition.
Jamie Carragher said on Tuesday that Bellingham has to start for England in Qatar and few would disagree.
It’s clear to everyone that he has come of age.
