Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has praised Borussia Dortmund star and Liverpool target Jude Bellingham.
The England youngster has established himself as one of the standout under-21s in Europe. At last week's Ballon d'Or awards, the former Birmingham City playmaker controversially missed out on the Kopa Award, finishing second, as Gavi scooped the prize.
Bellingham has been in scintillating form for Dortmund both domestically and in Europe, scoring in every one of their Champions League fixtures this season - as well as consistently over the last 12 months.
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The 19-year-old has captained the Bundesliga side on a number of occasions this season and could wear the armband for their important clash with Manchester City on Tuesday.
Speaking ahead of their Champions League encounter, the Spaniard praised Bellingham but conceded that had he moved to one of the big six in the Premier League instead of Borussia Dortmund it would have stifled his progression.
"Borussia Dortmund is the perfect place for young talent to come," Guardiola said in his press conference.
"Maybe if Jude Bellingham was in England he would go to City, United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal or Tottenham, maybe he would not get the minutes. The best thing for a young player to be better is to play minutes.
"He was 17 when he arrived but it was not just about his quality, how he was leading, his kicking, going to the referee.
"This guy was something special in terms of his mentality. Now he is 19 and he is already one of the captains. The quality, everybody knows it. The whole package is really good."
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