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Phil Foden believes England teammate Jude Bellingham will be ‘the best midfielder in the world’ after another top display from the Borussia Dortmund man.
Bellingham shone for the Three Lions in their 3-0 win over Senegal in the 2022 World Cup round of 16. He started and played 76 minutes in the game, assisting Jordan Henderson for the opening goal.
Aged just 19, he has now started all four of England’s 2022 World Cup matches, scoring his country’s opening goal in the tournament in the win against Iran.
Foden: Bellingham will be ‘world’s best midfielder’
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Speaking after the 3-0 victory, Foden tried his best not to ‘big up’ his teammate too much, but couldn’t help lavishing the midfielder with praise.
“I don’t want to big him up too much because he is still young, but he’s one of the most gifted players I have ever seen,” said Foden, as reported by BBC Sport.
“He has no weakness in his game. I think he will be the best midfielder in the world.”
England youngster shines against Senegal
Bellingham commanded the midfield in the last 16 encounter, winning the most duels (eight), most tackles (three), most possession in the final third (two) and most fouls for his team (two).
He also boasted a 100% passing accuracy in the final third and an overall pass completion of 96%, completing 23 of his 24 passes, the best figures of the match.
Such statistics simply back up the fact that he is one of the most sought-after players in world football. He is reportedly wanted by the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Real Madrid among many other top clubs.
The 19-year-old is currently enjoying another superb campaign for German side Borussia Dortmund. He has nine goals and three assists in all competitions for his club this season.
The Bundesliga outfit have only recently lost lethal striker Erling Haaland, so will undoubtedly be doing their utmost to keep hold of the young midfielder.
That could mean a huge price tag will be set, but even that may not put off Europe’s leading clubs as the race for the youngster heats up.
England veterans praise Bellingham
Foden wasn’t the only one to praise Bellingham after the Senegal victory, with England veterans Henderson and Harry Kane both speaking highly of the teenager.
The duo were both on the scoresheet in Sunday’s win, but focused their post-match talk on Bellingham’s efforts in midfield.
“I can’t keep saying nice things about him because we’re talking about a one-off,” said Henderson. “He’s only young and we just need to let him play football – but he is incredible.”
And Three Lions skipper Kane commented: “Jude is a fantastic player, he does everything well. I like him a lot – he’s a good person, mature for his age and has great leadership skills.”
Also commenting on the midfielder’s progression was England boss Gareth Southgate, who said: “I don’t think we could have predicted how quickly Bellingham could mature. In the past five months that has gone to another level.
“We wanted to invest in young players because we felt they could be special in the future. You suffer with that at times, because they are not going to be perfect, but further down the line you get these performances.”
— England (@England) December 5, 2022
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