I played with Jude Bellingham at Birmingham City – I never thought this would happen
by Mark Whiley, https://www.facebook.com/MarkWhileySport, Ben Crawford · Birmingham LiveFormer Birmingham City skipper Harlee Dean has recalled his early impressions of Jude Bellingham, including his stunning home debut.
The Real Madrid midfielder, who joined Blues aged just eight, made history as the club's youngest player at 16 years and 38 days when he was picked for an EFL Cup tie against Portsmouth. However, it's Bellingham's bow at St Andrew's that really stands out for Dean.
It saw the teen sensation come off the bench in the first half against Stoke City and net the winning goal. Speaking on the Undr The Cosh podcast, Dean, who now plays for Reading, praised not only Bellingham's incredible talent but also his down-to-earth attitude off the pitch.
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The 33-year-old said: "He came up as a kid and I'll be honest, I didn't make much of him. We had a few kids coming up. We had enough problems, it was the last thing I had to worry about, whether this kid was any good. It was just about staying up each year.
"The one thing I can remember is when he made his debut. It was Stoke at home and I think someone went off injured early doors. We looked over and I've seen they're bringing Jude on. I'm like, 'F****** hell, we don't need this now'.
"[He's] 16 maybe, like just – 'We don't need this right now, we need someone who I know that we can trust'. But how wrong was I? The kid came on, that was it. F****** scored and then just never looked back from there."
On working with Bellingham in training, Dean recalled: "Every day in training, if you had him on your team, you won. The best player every day, but just so humble with it as well.
"He would nutmeg you, take it around six people, put it in top bins and then didn't wanna smile or celebrate or give it big. He'd just go and do it again, and that was it. F****** frightening.
"If you smashed him, he'd smash you back. I f****** loved it. I loved everything that he stood for, but never, never thought he would come to be what he's been.
"You can't, can you? How do you know? I think, without his mindset and stuff, he wouldn't have been that. But, yeah, different, different player."
Just a year after his goal against Stoke, Bellingham was a Borussia Dortmund player. Fast-forward to 2024, and the midfielder is not just a talisman for Real Madrid but a key player for his country as well.