18 years old, played for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and played for England in the European Championships. You can forgive Jude Bellingham if he lets his astonishing success go to his head.
But it seems he’s still the quiet guy from the West Midlands.
Jude Bellingham is looking for a group of Birmingham fans to give his shirt to!
Pure class @BellinghamJude? #BCFC @BCFC # ENG # EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/alsiwdZ7dB
– talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) July 3, 2021
Bellingham were a 65-minute replacement for Gareth Southgate’s side when they charged for a 4-0 victory over Ukraine and booked their place in the Euro 2020 semi-final. But before he allowed himself to get into the parties with his teammates, the young man had some other business to take care of.
After discovering a group of Birmingham fans among the traveling England support, Bellingham made a point of thanking them by giving them their shirt.
The heartwarming clip has been circulating far and wide on social media, and fans – with an English flag reading “BCFC” – seem even more jubilant than they were when the last whistle went and confirmed England’s passage to the last four.
Bellingham play stars for England these days, but it was not so long ago that he came through the ranks in Birmingham. The Stourbridge Indian joined his boys’ club at the under-8 level and became their youngest player ever when he made his first team debut in 2019.
His winner from the bench against Stoke City that season made him Birmingham’s youngest goal scorer ever in 16 years and 63 days, and he continued to play 44 games for the club before Borussia Dortmund came and shouted.
Bellingham rejected interest from clubs in the Premier League and decided to emulate Jadon Sancho by going to Germany, and it is a decision that has yielded results with interest. He has played 46 times for Dortmund and done enough during his time in the Bundesliga to convince Southgate that he is already good enough to play for his country.
Which way to Wembley ??? Semis here we come. Buzzing for @JHenderson ?? pic.twitter.com/Cg9xcnnvAn
– Jude Bellingham (@BellinghamJude) July 3, 2021
He turned just 18 years old in June and was briefly the youngest player ever at the European Championships before 17-year-old Kacper Kozlowski – another 90-minute Our 21 – appeared for Poland.
