A young player that is capturing a lot of attention at the moment is the teenager from Birmingham who took the big decision to move to Germany and play in the Bundesliga at the age of 17.
Jude Bellingham was Birmingham City’s youngest ever professional player when he made his senior debut in August 2019, at the age of 16 years and 38 days. He quickly became a regular starter for Birmingham before getting interest from several big clubs.
When he made the move to Dortmund he became the most expensive 17-year-old in football history, choosing his next destination due to their record of starting young players like Haaland and Sancho. It was at a time when not many young English players travelled to leagues in other countries, but the decision has worked well so far with Jude starting this weekend’s game as captain of Dortmund for the first time.
He has also been picked for England by Southgate and was man of the match in their recent friendly against Germany. You could see the impact he had on that game and you can also see why Dortmund made him captain as he has clear leadership abilities and is one of those players that can change a game.
He was given the armband with Reus being injured, and he said after the game: “When I first signed for this club, it’s something that I never even thought was possible until I met the players and realised that they can give me the belief to one day be the captain.”
He’s still just 19 and is likely to play for England at the World Cup with Henderson and Phillips having injury problems. It will be exciting to see him in action more for England, and it surely won’t be long before other clubs try to compete for his signature. #mmlove