The staggering talent of Jude Bellingham

When Erling Haaland was asked in September 2021 to rate the then 18-year-old Jude Bellingham, he replied: "It's crazy. What can I say? He's amazing". The Norwegian – then a teammate of Bellingham's at Borussia Dortmund – wasn't exaggerating, said Craig Hope in the Daily Mail. Bellingham is no mere "generational talent"; he has the potential to become "the best of any generation".

Signed by Spanish giants Real Madrid in the summer, he has made an electric start there, scoring 11 goals in his first 12 appearances. There's a "swagger" to how the 20-year-old plays that suggests he knows he's "top dog in town". So it's a good thing that, as is increasingly clear, he "has the bite to justify the bark". 

Bellingham combines "elegance, movement and power" in a way that recalls Bryan Robson, Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane, said Jason Burt in The Daily Telegraph. "How England have craved someone like this." 

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His galvanising impact on Gareth Southgate's team is becoming more obvious with every game, said Henry Winter in The Times. In last week's 3-1 victory over Italy, which secured England's place at Euro 2024, it was Harry Kane who scored two goals, but it was Bellingham who made the real difference. 

His surging run into the box earned England the first-half penalty that drew them level. Then, with the scores at 1-1, he showcased his full range of talents in the "superb breakaway" that culminated in Marcus Rashford's goal. Having "won back the ball" with a well-timed challenge, Bellingham "charged through the middle" before touching the ball left to Rashford – and then capped the move with a remarkable decoy run that created space for Rashford to score. Such awareness and intelligence – vanishingly rare in a 20-year-old – suggest England "can prosper, even prevail, in Germany next summer".