Jude Bellingham nearly had a major howler ahead of Borussia Dortmund's mid-season training camp. The Bundesliga side are embarking on a spot of warm weather training in Marbella, Spain, during the German winter break and were close to going without their star man.
After coming back to England post-World Cup, where Bellingham spent time watching his brother Jobe play for boyhood club Birmingham City, the 19-year-old still had three weeks to wait until Dortmund are back in competitive action. He was back in training with his club last week and now preparations are stepping up.
Bellingham was one of the standout Three Lions players in Qatar and only heightened his position in the world game with some exception and mature performances. Gareth Southgate's trust in him was such that he remained in the squad despite being the youngest player, and only teenager, in the entire 26-man squad.
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For clubs like Chelsea that are extremely keen to sign him in 2023 it was further proof of how good he already is and a demonstration of how far he can go in the game. Interest in Bellingham existed long before the tournament, with Frank Lampard desperate to get him to SW6 as far back as 2019, but it's perhaps never been stronger than it is now.
Bellingham is wanted by all the top clubs and an intense bidding war is set to take place in the summer with Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester United all crowding round to try and convince him to sign. Perhaps it was this that crossed his mind when getting ready for the mid-season camp - no, not really.
Upon his arrival at the airport Bellingham found himself without his passport and had to get his mother, Denise, to save the day by bringing it to him. All was well in the end and he will now be preparing for the return of domestic action in Germany on January 22, it is easy to forget he's just 19, afterall.
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