Jude Bellingham: The boy that is fast becoming a man

Jude Bellingham's rise to stardom at Real Madrid and impact on England's prospects. #JudeBellingham #RealMadrid #England

Jude Bellingham celebrates after yet another goal for Real Madrid. (Photo credit: GOAL)

When it was clear he was going to be bought for well over €100 million, and also having the guts to ask for jersey number 5, which was previously fined by a certain Zinedine Zidane, many thought Jude Bellingham was headed for the “fraud watch list,” but look at him today.

With Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchoumeni, and Eduard Camavinga all young talents in the Real Madrid midfield, learning from veterans like Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, you wonder where the Englishman would fit in, but once again, look at him today.

From day one, he set the league ablaze, playing off the striker and scoring freely. Contributing goals and quality defending at both ends of the pitch, far away from the pressure of the English media and the toxicity they brew, Jude Bellingham is primed to go all the way and achieve his potential.

At just 20, certain to cart home the Golden Boy award off the jaws of the equally talented Jamaal Musiala of Bayern Munich and Germany, Bellingham is also throwing himself into the 2023 World Best Player conversations, and you have to respect him.

At the El-Classico over the weekend, Barcelona seemed to be coasting to victory and ready to have yet another one over their bitter rivals, but as we’ve come to know, agent Bellingham stepped up to be counted and hammered in two goals to take the game far away from the hosts.

He has done it in the league too many times already, and he has also done it in the Champions League. He is proving to be the best thing to happen to Real Madrid in recent years, and if he keeps plugging away like this, his ceiling is high.

How has he been deployed by Don Carlo? He moves from central midfield to advanced roles in most games and even goes as far as false nine sometimes; he has an eye for goal and is always prepared to arrive in the box at the right time to finish off moves.

With Tchoumeni injured and Carlo Ancelotti managing the minutes he gives to Modric and Kroos, Bellingham should even be prepared to take more leadership roles in the midfield, and from this end, the only way for Bellingham is up.

This also comes as encouraging news for England. With Bukayo Saka flying at Arsenal, Levi Colwill shinning in a struggling Chelsea side, and Phil Foden coming into his own, the number of stars that Gareth Southgate can rely on is growing, and who’s to say they can't go all the way in Germany next year?