Jude Bellingham. Do I need to say more?
Denied by the post early on, Bellingham had a superb game vs Ivory Coast (March 31, 2022) and is the type of player England need right now to get the fans back behind them.
Often dubbed the next Gazza, what does Bellingham have to do to live up to his much-promised hype?
Questions have been raised since July 2020 when Birmingham City retired the #22 jersey after Bellingham’s transfer to Dortmund. Initially the transfer was valued at £25 million plus performance-based incentives.
Even though Dortmund has an exceptional record when it comes to nurturing young players, a move away from Germany and back to England would make logical sense.
This will come with challenges though. The list of players who have failed with their move from the Bundesliga to the Premier League is continuing to grow. The likes of Timo Werner, Thiago and Mkhitaryan all failing to make a big impact at top Premier League clubs. Not to mention the most recent, Jadon Sancho. We don’t want to knock the final nail in the coffin yet on Sancho as it is still early in his United career, but he has not got off to a good start.
Currently valued at £110 million, there are a few suiters we think would lap up the chance to sign Bellingham.
Liverpool – Liverpool is lacking that special something in midfield. Their attack is world class. But their midfield has always been a problem. Henderson is kicking on, and the likes of Naby Keita, Thiago and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have failed to make an impact. They have emerging young talents like Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliot. But there is no doubt that the signing of Bellingham would massively boost an already great Liverpool side.
Manchester United – There’s a lot of talk about Manchester United being on the decline. Even so, a move to Old Trafford would certainly work for both parties. United’s midfield has been pathetic of late. The likes of Fred and McTominay are good players, but are they what we associate with a club like Manchester United?
Paul Pogba is out of contract this summer too and Bellingham would have the chance to link up with Sancho again. Despite United’s lackluster last few seasons, we still think this would be a good move for him.
Real Madrid – Los Blancos have an ageing midfield. It seems like Modric and Kroos have been knocking about for donkeys years. It’s time for a change and new blood. There’s already talks of Mbappe or Haaland heading to the Bernabeu. With Bellingham and the likes of Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo, Madrid could manage to overhaul a lot of their old players without going through a bad transition period.
Where not to go:
Manchester City – I’m sure the idea of playing with Sterling, Foden and Grealish week in, week out, will be a big selling point for city considering how well Bellingham already seems to link up with them. But this move would make little sense to us. Bellingham needs to play. With the likes of De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Foden all playing similar roles, he would undoubtably be in a rotation. Sure, he’d win titles, he’d make money, but he has so much potential. We’d hate to see him waste it.
Bayern Munich – The next step up for a lot of Dortmund players has been to move to Bayern Munich. Staying in the Bundesliga where one team dominates everything doesn’t seem like the right move to us. Plus, where’s the loyalty? Dortmund isn’t going to get any better if they keep selling all their best players to the best team in the league. Don’t do this Jude. Don’t follow suit.
There’s no doubt that Bellingham is a different kind of gravy. He oozes class. As football fans we’re excited to watch Bellingham’s career unfold. We hope he lives up to his uncapped potential.
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