Jude Bellingham is the teenager showing maturity way beyond his years.
And now the clamour is growing for Gareth Southgate to start the 19-year-old at the World Cup and give him his chance on the biggest stage. There can be no doubt that his performances on the pitch for Borussia Dortmund show that he is ready to be thrust into the spotlight in Qatar.
Bellingham - included in England's 28-man squad for this month's Nations League double-header with Italy and Germany - plays with no fear. His marauding midfield displays are drawing comparisons to England legend Bryan Robson and his quality and ability are beyond any doubt.
The biggest clubs in European football are already circling as Real Madrid and Liverpool both regard him as the most exciting young midfield talent in the Champions League. Brummie Bellingham, who grew up through Birmingham City’s academy, reinforced that message in Dortmund’s narrow defeat by Manchester City at the Etihad on Wednesday night.
It was Bellingham who ran the game with a brilliant performance full of energy; a box-to-box midfield display which proved beyond any doubt that he is ready for England. Bellingham has been in and around the squad for the past two years and played at the Euros but is now ready for the step up into the starting XI - and his performances are demanding it.
He is surely pushing hard to start alongside Declan Rice in England’s midfield engine room. Rather like with Paul Gascoigne in the build-up to Italia 90, surely the momentum will get him there. And the other refreshing part of Bellingham is his personality because there is no ego; he is refreshingly down-to-earth and has such a strong family unit around him to guide him on and off the pitch.
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Bellingham gave an interview to Dortmund’s official podcast in the summer which highlighted his wonderful attitude towards being lucky enough to play football professionally. “I don’t take it for granted,” said Bellingham. “Every single day I get up and I get to go to football.
“Not that it’s a bad thing but I have friends who have to be up and go to lectures at Uni. I was never great in school, I was average at everything. I don’t know what I’d be doing if it wasn’t for football. To be able to play football all day is living the dream.
“I still find it so weird to see my name and my number, and when fans come with the shirt, it’s the weirdest thing ever. I can’t believe it’s happened. I don’t take it for granted. I don’t think I ever will.
“At the end of the day, I’m just Jude. I went to school like everyone else. I was raised like everyone else. I was lucky to be put onto football. I don’t see myself as some special human just because I get to play professional football, which is why I don’t get weird when someone asks for [something] after training.
“Why would I get all bothered about that? I’m no better than anyone here just because I can kick a ball around.”
That is some attitude bearing in mind just how special he really is. This is a kid who has been earmarked as a generational talent since before he was even a teenager. The biggest clubs wanted to snatch him from Birmingham’s academy and yet he stayed loyal to his boyhood heroes and ensured they got the best deal possible.
Now, there is a special bond with Dortmund fans and if part of Southgate’s decision-making is based on the player as an individual then it can only strengthen Bellingham’s case.
“There is something between us,” Bellingham said about the Dortmund fans. “I think it is because they appreciate I will do a lot to win for the club. I can’t thank them enough for how they have embraced me into the family. I feel at home here and that is because of them.
“In the city, they are always so respectful. If I’m going to get shopping with my mum, they come up and without bugging me they say how nice it is to see me. It’s really nice to hear. It still feels surreal to see my name on the back of someone else and I will give whatever time I have to give to make them happy.”
If Bellingham maintains his current progress, then he will have to get used to seeing his name on the back of a lot more shirts because he is surely destined for the very top.
