Jude Bellingham

Jude Victor William Bellingham (born 29 June 2003) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.

Jude Bellingham
Bellingham with Birmingham City in 2019
Personal information
Full name Jude Victor William Bellingham[1]
Date of birth (2003-06-29) 29 June 2003[2]
Place of birth Stourbridge,[3] England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[4]
Playing position(s) Midfielder[2]
Club information
Current team
 Borussia Dortmund
Number 22
Youth career
2010–2019 Birmingham City[5]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Birmingham City 41 (4)
2020– Borussia Dortmund 0 (0)
National team‡
2016–2018 England U15
2018–2019 England U16 7 (4)
2019– England U17 3 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:41, 23 July 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 08:41, 23 July 2020 (UTC)

Bellingham joined Birmingham City as an under-8, became the club's youngest ever first-team player when he made his senior debut in August 2019, at the age of 16 years, 38 days,[3] and played regularly during the 2019–20 season. He joined Borussia Dortmund in July 2020. He has represented England at under-15, under-16 and under-17 levels.

Early life

Bellingham was born in Stourbridge, West Midlands, in 2003.[3] He is the eldest son of Mark Bellingham, a sergeant in the West Midlands Police and prolific goalscorer in non-League football.[6][7] His younger brother, Jobe, is a member of Birmingham City F.C.'s academy.[8] Bellingham attended Priory School in Edgbaston, Birmingham.[9]

Club career

Birmingham City

Bellingham joined Birmingham City as an under-8.[3] He played for their under-18 team at 14,[8] and made his debut for their under-23 team at the age of 15, on 15 October 2018 away to Nottingham Forest's U23s. Entering the game after an hour, he scored the only goal in the 87th minute "sliding in to force the ball over the goal line after pressure by Kyle McFarlane on the keeper diverted the ball into his path."[10] By March 2019, he had three goals from ten development squad appearances,[11] had featured in FourFourTwo's list of the "50 most exciting teenagers in English football",[12] and was being mentioned as of interest to major European clubs.[13][14] He was gradually introduced to the first-team environment while still a schoolboy, increasingly training with the seniors, accompanying them on matchday to observe,[8] and, in March 2019, travelling as the "19th man" for the visit to West Bromwich Albion in the Championship.[11]

Bellingham took up a two-year scholarship with Birmingham City to begin in July 2019.[15] He was part of the first-team squad that spent a week in Portugal as part of their pre-season training,[16] played and scored in pre-season friendlies,[17] and was given squad number 22 for the 2019–20 season.[18] On 6 August 2019, Bellingham became Birmingham City's youngest ever first-team player – at the age of 16 years, 38 days, beating the record of 16 years 139 days set by Trevor Francis in 1970[3] – when he started the EFL Cup first round visit to Portsmouth. He played for 80 minutes in the 3–0 defeat, and was the Birmingham Mail's man of the match.[19] He made his first Football League appearance 19 days later, as a second-half substitute in a 3–0 defeat away to Swansea City,[20] and his home debut on 31 August against Stoke City. Entering the game after half an hour to replace the injured Jefferson Montero, Bellingham went on to score the winning goal – albeit via a generous deflection – as Birmingham came back from 1–0 down to beat Stoke 2–1, and thus became Birmingham's youngest ever goalscorer, at the age of 16 years and 63 days.[21] He started the next match, away to Charlton Athletic two weeks later, and scored the only goal from Kerim Mrabti's cutback.[22]

Bellingham continued as a permanent fixture in the matchday squad, sometimes as a substitute but mainly in the starting eleven.[9] He was eased into the team on the left wing, moved into central midfield "where he could gain more confidence", and then used "in a more advanced role" once the staff were sure he could cope with the responsibility.[9] He was EFL Young Player of the Month for November 2019.[7] According to head coach Pep Clotet, Bellingham himself "feels more comfortable in midfield, and more comfortable when he can get closer to the opposition box."[23]

He was linked with moves to numerous major clubs in January 2020;[24] on deadline day, Birmingham were reported to have turned down a £20 million bid from Manchester United.[25] Bellingham continued as a first-team regular, and by the time the season was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he had made 32 league appearances. He remained an integral part of the team once the season resumed behind closed doors,[20] and set up a late equaliser for Lukas Jutkiewicz against Charlton Athletic that made Birmingham's league position less precarious with two matches still to play.[26] He finished the season with four goals from 44 appearances in all competitions, 41 in the league, as Birmingham avoided relegation despite losing the last match of the season.[20][27] In appreciation of what Bellingham achieved in such a short time with the first team, the club announced that they would retire his number 22 shirt, "to remember one of our own and to inspire others."[28]

Borussia Dortmund

It had long become clear that Bellingham would leave at the end of the season, and it was reported that he and his father had visited several major clubs, of which Manchester United and Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund were the favourites. Impressed by the Dortmund club's record of including young players as regulars in the first team, as evidenced by the likes of Jadon Sancho, that became his destination of choice. On 16 July, he flew to Germany for a medical with Borussia Dortmund, and the transfer was confirmed four days later: he would join Borussia Dortmund after Birmingham's last match of the season. The fee was undisclosed, but was understood by Sky Sports to be an initial £25 million – making him the most expensive 17-year-old in history – plus "several million more" dependent on performance-related criteria.[29][30]

International career

Bellingham made his England under-15 debut against Turkey in December 2016.[31] In recognition of his captaining that team during the 2017–18 season, he was presented with a Special Achievement Award at the 2018 Birmingham City Academy awards night.[32] By the end of 2018 he had made his first appearance for the England under-16 team, and went on to feature in seven games, score four goals, and captain the team.[33][34]

He was included in England's under-17 squad for the Syrenka Cup, a friendly tournament held in September 2019 in preparation for the 2020 European Championship qualifiers the following March.[35] He made his debut as a substitute in England's opening match of the tournament, a 5–0 win over Finland in which he scored the third goal,[36] and captained the team in their second fixture, in which they came back from a goal behind to beat Austria 4–2 and qualify for the final. Again, Bellingham scored the third goal.[37] He retained the captaincy for the final, in which England beat hosts Poland on penalties following a 2–2 draw,[38] and was named player of the tournament.[39]

Career statistics
As of end of 2019–20 season
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Birmingham City 2019–20[20] Championship4142010—444
Borussia Dortmund 2020–21[2] Bundesliga0000—0000
Career total 414201000444
  1. Includes FA Cup and DFB-Pokal
  2. Includes EFL Cup

Honours

England U17

  • Syrenka Cup: 2019[38]

Individual

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References
  1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Birmingham City" (PDF). English Football League. p. 4. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  2. "J. Bellingham: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  3. "Bellingham creates Blues history". Birmingham City F.C. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  4. "Jude Bellingham: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  5. "Bellingham expresses his gratitude". Birmingham City Football Club.
  6. Coney, Steven (22 September 2016). "700-up! Legendary striker Mark Bellingham on reaching the amazing milestone". The Non-League Paper. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  7. Townsend, Joe (23 December 2019). "Jude Bellingham: Birmingham City teenager wins EFL Young Player of the Month award for November". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  8. Fisher, Ben (20 February 2020). "Why Jude Bellingham is already on the radar of football's powerhouses". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  9. Bate, Adam (25 January 2020). "Jude Bellingham to Manchester United? Birmingham teenager is a special talent". Sky Sports. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  10. "Report: Nottingham Forest Under-23s 0 Blues Under-23s 1". Birmingham City F.C. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  11. Dick, Brian (29 March 2019). "The Birmingham City prodigy being fast-tracked by Garry Monk". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  12. "The 50 most exciting teenagers in English football". FourFourTwo. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  13. Wallace, Sam (10 March 2019). "While Bundesliga clubs sense opportunity, England's youth face difficult choice over whether to stick or twist". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  14. Dick, Brian (30 March 2019). "Who is Jude Bellingham? A quick introduction to Birmingham City's teenage wonder boy". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  15. Rice, Bradley (20 July 2019). "Birmingham City coach makes this Jude Bellingham transfer admission". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  16. Dicken, Alex (7 July 2019). "Birmingham City confirm 26-man squad for Portugal tour". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  17. "Report: Blues 6 Swindon Town 1". Birmingham City F.C. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
    Chapman, Joseph (20 July 2019). "Birmingham City player ratings as Pep Clotet's men win again in pre-season". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  18. "Blues 2019/20 squad numbers". Birmingham City F.C. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  19. Chapman, Joseph (6 August 2019). "Birmingham City player ratings: Jude Bellingham shines bright despite defeat". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  20. "Games played by Jude Bellingham in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  21. "Birmingham 2–1 Stoke: Blues comeback heaps more pressure on Nathan Jones". Sky Sports. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  22. "Charlton Athletic 0–1 Birmingham City". BBC Sport. 14 September 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  23. Robertson, Gregor (27 January 2020). "'No ceiling' on how far Jude Bellingham, 16, can go". The Times. London. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  24. Winter, Lewis (28 January 2020). "Chelsea submit bid for Man Utd target as player's father has doubts over Old Trafford move". Daily Express. London. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  25. Dick, Brian (31 January 2020). "Birmingham City transfer deadline day: Blues reject huge Manchester United bid – reports". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  26. Aloia, Andrew (16 July 2020). "Birmingham City 1–1 Charlton Athletic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  27. "Birmingham 1-3 Derby: Blues secure Championship status despite defeat". Sky Sports. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  28. de Menezes, Jack (23 July 2020). "Jude Bellingham's number 22 shirt retired by Birmingham City after Borussia Dortmund transfer". The Independent. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  29. "Jude Bellingham signs for Borussia Dortmund from Birmingham". Sky Sports. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  30. "Jude Bellingham to join Borussia Dortmund". Birmingham City F.C. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
    "Jude Bellingham to join Borussia Dortmund". Borussia Dortmund. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  31. Pitt-Brooke, Jack (29 December 2019). "A generation unlike any we have seen before: England's teenage stars of the future". The Athletic. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  32. "Lubala and Harding at Blues Academy Awards". Birmingham City F.C. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  33. "Academy highlights of the month: November and December 2018" (PDF). Birmingham City F.C. Academy. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  34. "Jude Bellingham: Internationals". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  35. Veevers, Nicholas (30 August 2019). "New England MU17s boss Kevin Betsy will take his squad to Poland for the Syrenka Cup". The Football Association. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  36. "U17 Friendlies 2019: September: England–Finland 5:0". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  37. Veevers, Nicholas (8 September 2019). "Young Lions come back from behind to beat Austria and secure Syrenka Cup Final spot". The Football Association. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  38. "Young Lions lift the Syrenka Cup with a penalty shootout win over hosts Poland". The Football Association. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  39. "Puchar Syrenki U-17: Przegrywamy po karnych z Anglią" [U17 Syrenka Cup: We lose to England on penalties]. WESZŁO! (in Polish). 10 September 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  40. "It's a double for Juke". Birmingham City F.C. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  • Profile at the Birmingham City F.C. website
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