Jamie Redknapp has revealed he had a conversation with former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard about Jude Bellingham before the midfielder opened the scoring for England at the World Cup.
The Three Lions kicked off their World Cup campaign on Monday afternoon with a 6-2 win over Iran with 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder Bellingham breaking the deadlock with a a headed goal similar to the one that Anfield legend Gerrard scored in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul.
Bellingham has been strongly linked with a move to Liverpool but, should they make a move, either in January or next summer, they will face competition from the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United and Manchester City.
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It is well known Gerrard is a huge admirer of Bellingham with comparisons already being made between the two players.
"Funnily enough, Stevie and I were talking before the game, just as the players were coming out,” said Redknapp, who played alongside fellow former England international Gerrard in the Liverpool midfield, told Sky Sports. "He’s just come up and he’s said, ‘cor, he looks a talent?
"'What a player he is'. I remember Stevie as a 17-year-old when he first got in the Liverpool team and you just realise you’re in the presence of greatness because they move the ball differently and I think Jude’s a little bit like that.”
As well as his admission to Redknapp, Gerrard spoke publicly about Bellingham before the World Cup. He said : "I'm really excited to watch Jude Bellingham, I'm a massive fan of him. I think the next 10 or 15 years, he's going to become an England superstar."
Bellingham, whose header against Iran was his first goal for England, idolised Gerrard growing up, but has played down comparisons with the all-time great. The teenager said : "I’m not sure how I feel [about Gerrard comparisons] because it’s almost disrespectful to him with all he has achieved in the game. To say that, after three years, we have similarities. I think I just want to be Jude and go on my own path. What he did was amazing and if I can even get close to what he did, then I’ve done well."
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