Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour has said that he now understands why Birmingham City retired Jude Bellingham’s shirt number following his sale to Borussia Dortmund.
The midfielder made the breakthrough into the first team at St Andrew’s not long after his 16th birthday. He went on to make 44 appearances for the club, scoring four goals before moving to Germany.
Following his departure, Birmingham confirmed that they were retiring the number 22 shirt number worn by the academy graduate. That decision prompted a mixed response from the wider footballing world at the time, but it now seems that that opinion is changing.
Bellingham moved on from Dortmund in the summer, completing a move to Real Madrid. At just 20 years old he continues to excel on both the international and domestic stage.
After he was named man-of-the-match for his performance for England against Italy on Sunday, Parlour was among those to praise Bellingham. The pundit looked back on Brimingham’s decision and also made a big prediction over the player.
“I can see why they retired his shirt now, how good he is,” he said on talkSPORT. “Everyone was like ‘what you’re retiring his shirt?’ But what he has done so far in his career is unbelievable.
“He’s very grounded, he knows exactly what he’s doing as a player, as a 20-year-old. If he keeps improving how he is at the moment, he’s going to be the best player in the world, definitely.”
Since moving to Madrid, Bellingham has scored 10 times in 10 appearances in all competitions for the club, while also providing two assists. After joining up with the England squad over the international break, the Birmingham boy will be back in La Liga action tomorrow (Saturday) when Real Madrid travel to take on Sevilla, just one week before the first El Clasico of the season.
