MY ACCOUNT
Jude Bellingham has conceded he did not expect to become as influential for Borussia Dortmund as quickly as he has, crediting the club’s coaches for helping his development.
The 19-year-old England international has become an integral part of Edin Terzic’s side, starting 52 matches since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
Moving to the Bundesliga two years ago from Championship outfit Birmingham City, Bellingham’s rise has been meteoric – boasting 15 caps for England alongside his vast experience at club level.
While Bellingham has long been touted to become a star, he himself has admitted that things have moved far quicker than he ever anticipated.
“All of it has been a bit of a surprise – I didn’t think I’d come here and have the impact that I’ve had as quickly,” he said ahead of Wednesday’s away Champions League clash against Manchester City.
“I thought I’d maybe have to wait a bit longer to get in the team and play a lot of minutes.
“But I’ve got to give credit to the staff, the coaches that I’ve had, Lucien Favre and Marco Rose, because they’ve thrown me into the deep end, given me the exposure, given me the chance to learn.
“I’ve got qualities that maybe I didn’t know I had before I came, it’s all down to them, giving me the trust and managing to get it out of me.”
Bellingham and his Dortmund team-mates face a tough task against a familiar face in Erling Haaland, who left the club in the transfer window to join City.
Since moving to England, Haaland has been in blistering form with 12 goals in eight appearances across all competitions and Bellingham is not sure how the striker can be stopped.
“I’m not really sure to be honest, we’ll have to find out [in the game],” Bellingham added. “He’s a player with a lot of quality and a lot of physical attributes that make him so dangerous.
“It’s not a thing that’s an individual task, it’s something the team has to deal with collectively. We stick together, try to do the right things without the ball, then it can be possible.”
