Former Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana insists Jude Bellingham's meteoric rise is akin to that of Trent Alexander-Arnold's.
Since moving to Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2020, Bellingham has affirmed his status as one of the game's most exciting talents and his performances at the Qatar World Cup with England have seen his stock rise tenfold.
Scoring the Three Lions' first goal of the tournament in the 6-2 thrashing of Iran, the 19-year-old has since been an integral part in England's quest for a second World title.
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Liverpool officials' long-standing admiration of Bellingham is anything but confidential, with the former Birmingham City scholar being invited to the club's academy when he was playing under-11s football. Despite his parents, Mark and Denise, eventually deciding against relocating as a family to Merseyside, the Reds are anticipated to be one of the leading contenders for his signature when he departs the Signal Iduna Park.
And Lallana, who enjoyed a trophy-laden six-year stay at Anfield and represented England 34 times, admits he has been astonished by the ease at which Bellingham has made life in the professional game look, revealing that such a climb to stardom reminds him of his former Liverpool team-mate Alexander-Arnold.
Since debuting for his boyhood club in a League Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur in October 2016, Alexander-Arnold has established himself as one of the most complete full-backs in the world and in 2019 became the youngest ever player to start back-to-back Champions League finals
"He has probably not had much adversity in his career yet," Brighton midfielder Lallana wrote in The Times about Bellingham. "That doesn’t mean he won all the time with Birmingham City and Dortmund, but every challenge he has had, he has met full-on and succeeded. There will be a time when that isn’t the case because that is the nature of football and that is how you learn.
"For now, though, his rise reminds me of how Trent Alexander-Arnold came through at Liverpool. That said, I have not seen a player this young able to exert the same influence on matches as Jude. No matter what names you put to me, no one comes close. No one.
"That is one form of leadership, although I also liked the way he picked Harry Kane, the England captain, up off the turf and patted him on the back after one attack."
During Sunday's 3-0 round-of-16 victory over Senegal, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and Bellingham combined excellently to open the scoring. It was a goal that sweetened the duo's close-knit relationship, with Bellingham heaping praise on the elder statesman after the game and calling for fans on social media "to put more respect" on Henderson's name. Lallana, too, joined in on the social media joy as he posted his own homage to the duo.
"Then there was the celebration with Jordan after they had combined for the breakthrough which screamed of the bromance they have developed. It felt like a special moment," added Lallana. "Watching with the lads and our manager Roberto De Zerbi, who I was telling should support England as Italy are not there, I got a shot of adrenaline. In fact, I couldn’t sleep when I went back to my room because I had adrenaline in my system.
"Later on, I posted on Instagram the image of Jordan running towards Jude with the caption “Master and apprentice” and that is the perfect summation in my opinion.
"Jordan does not give praise out willy-nilly and the fact he was saying to me two years ago after Jude first joined up with England, 'watch this kid, wait until you see this kid', told me he was a special talent."
Lallana added: "But the respect flows both ways. Jude spoke afterwards about Jordan deserving more respect. He had already identified Jordan’s importance to England because he had spoken after the Wales win about the intensity he brought to the team. For a teenager to see that, feel that, appreciate that and be open to tapping into that is unusual. Again, that speaks of his maturity and the desire to improve.
"I would wholeheartedly agree that Jordan should receive more recognition, but I don’t want people praising him too much. Reading his autobiography, it is clear how much he thrives on the questions and doubts that routinely seemed to be aired towards him. That is the fuel that fires him to perform. Perhaps it is better if people try to pick holes in his performances — at least for the next couple of weeks."
Henderson is expected to keep his place in the England team for the mouthwatering quarter-final tie with France on Saturday evening.
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