Jude Bellingham was already a ‘man’ at Birmingham from day one who used to ‘dominate’ training sessions as a fresh-faced teenager.
That’s according to his former Blues teammate and current Oxford United star Josh McEachran, who played alongside the 20-year-old during the 2019/20 season.
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It seems like only yesterday that the England midfield maestro made his senior debut at the age of 16 years and 38 days in a 3-0 EFL Cup defeat to Portsmouth.
But in just five years, he went from rising starlet to arguably the best footballer in the world.
Bellingham has already scored 21 goals and assisted ten in 36 games in all competitions in his first season with Real Madrid.
Every week, he continues to impress fans more and more, from his healthy moves off the field to his goal-scoring prowess.
Even Brazilian legend Ronaldo waxed lyrical about him, where he paid him the ultimate compliment by comparing him to Zinedine Zidane.
But anyone who watched Bellingham make his breakthrough at St Andrew’s will tell you their academy product was always destined for the top – and former Chelsea starlet McEachran is no different.
McEachran, who was once branded ‘the future of Chelsea’, claimed he knew Bellingham would go all the way before the youngster linked up with Borussia Dortmund in a £25m move in 2020 .
Speaking on talkSPORT’s Hawksbee and Jacobs show live from Cheltenham about Bellingham, he said: “I was [at Birmingham] a few years ago and Jude must have been around 15, 16 years old [years old] come here.
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“I think he made his Championship debut when he was 16. I’m probably like a lot of other pros now, they said as you might say when he first came in.
“At 16 you think you could almost intimidate him, but he was a man at that age. What he did with the ball and his physicality was incredible.
“What he’s doing at Real Madrid now, I probably didn’t think about it as soon as it happened [this early in his career], but fair play to Jude, he was amazing. You knew he was going for really big things. »
McEachran, who was on Chelsea’s books from 2001 to 2015, had a similar experience coming through the ranks at Stamford Bridge, as he also trained with the first team at the age of 15.
When asked if players have to have “something in them” to be able to succeed in this type of scenario, he said Bellingham has more than made its mark.
He remarked: “Yeah, definitely [he did]. It wasn’t just about getting training.
“He dominated practice and was a voice. In the five against at the end of practice, you knew if you had Jude on your team you would think you would win.
“He was so present, at 16 years old, I think it’s huge, playing with senior pros who are 30/32 years old, it’s huge.
“Obviously what he’s doing now [Santiago] Bernabeu is incredible.”
Bellingham is set to become a big star for the Three Lions at the Euros this summer alongside Harry Kane flocking to Germany.
However, he will first face his England captain and team Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-final, live on talkSPORT.
