Former Real Madrid striker Michael Owen has admitted his initial impression of Jude Bellingham was wrong, after thinking the youngster’s energy was a sign of inexperience. He also added that the 19-year-old’s selfless nature is part of the reason he’s loved by managers and fellow players.
Bellingham has been on Real Madrid’s radar, as well as that of other European giants’ for many months now, although he did become more popular after the impressive showing he put on for England at during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The teenager scored his first goal for the Three Lions during their 6-2 win over Iran, and was largely instrumental to most of the attacking plays Gareth Southgate’s side showed at the tournament.
His style of play, Owen admits, could easily be misread as an attempt of a young lad to over-impress, but having watched him play more consistently, Owen has now come to the conclusion that the Borussia Dortmund ace is very grounded and selfless.
“He’s got attributes that make him a complete midfielder,” Owen told The Telegraph. “We don’t see him every week because he’s out in the Bundesliga, but what struck me was how giving he is.
“By that, I mean he plays for the team, not himself. He does almost too much and at first I thought, ‘Jeez, Jude, you’re wasting energy covering too much ground because of your inexperience’.
“I was wrong, the more I watch him, I love the way he plays. A lot of people, when they become very good, it almost becomes uncool to do the hard yards and the stuff you don’t really get loads of praise for.
“He is so grounded, he does good things, great runs and scores goals, but when players make a name for themselves they sometimes save their energy for the big, headline-grabbing moments.
“He does the stuff managers and team-mates really notice. I hope he keeps the hunger to do all the nasty jobs. He works his nuts off. I’ve fallen in love with him.”
Owen added: “We’ve got coaches in academies now telling kids that is their position, almost coaching other things out of their game to fit that rigid position. It’s been happening for the last 20 years,” Owen added.
“Bellingham is different. He can play anywhere in midfield and do everything. In my day, you normally played with a two in midfield and you had to be an all-rounder, but we’ve lost those players because you normally have a midfield three. That requires specific positions because it needs a balance. I played with one of the best all-round midfielders around in Steven Gerrard, and six was not his position. If you asked him to do that, you were chopping off his legs, as it were.
“So many people can do a six job, not many can do everything. Gerrard was too good to not go forward, score and create goals. Jude is the same.”
Jude Bellingham is said to be valued at around £150m by Borussia Dortmund. But Real Madrid aren’t keen on paying that much for his services.
