Ex-Birmingham City boss Pep Clotet speaks out on “meteoric” Jude Bellingham ahead of the World Cup | OneFootball

Pep Clotet has opened up on the emergence of Jude Bellingham at Birmingham City ahead of his appearance at the World Cup.

The English midfielder earned a call-up to Gareth Southgate’s side for the Qatar edition of the competition, which kicks off on Sunday.

But Bellingham first burst onto the scene at St. Andrew’s at just 16 years of age, becoming the club’s youngest ever first team player.

Clotet was with the Blues throughout his breakthrough into the Birmingham squad, and believes that he still has yet to reach anywhere near his ceiling as a footballer and expects him to cope well with the pressure of appearing on the world’s biggest stage.

The current Brescia manager revealed his pride at playing such a key role in helping Bellingham’s rise to superstardom.

“I always said I could not see the roof on Jude – and still I can’t,” said Clotet, via Birmingham Live.

“He definitely has a lot of ambition, motivation, drive to be the best possible, it has been meteoric.

“Knowing now that we helped him and have been a little part of his trip along the way, with what he has achieved now has been fantastic.

“You could definitely see that he could do big things.

“He came off the bench against Stoke and he scored straight away.

“He had the perfect home league debut for the club he loves. It was one of those star debuts.

“There were a lot of moments I had with Jude but that one was very special for me because you are not used to seeing a player make a home debut and scoring in a very difficult game against very difficult opposition.

“Stoke were tipped to be one of the strongest teams in the league.

“I love the cups but coming into the Championship and doing it, that was strong, that was very special, he put a footprint straight away in the team.”

Quiz: What shirt number are these 25 current Birmingham City players?

1 of 25

Dion Sanderson

24 26 28 30

Clotet handed Bellingham his debut for the club during his stint in charge of the first team squad from 2019 to 2020.

Bellingham eventually departed the Blues for Borussia Dortmund, where he currently plies his trade.

It was a much publicised move, which garnered a lot of attention for Birmingham with a host of clubs seeking a move for the teenager.

The 19-year old will be aiming to compete for England in their opening game of Group B on Monday afternoon, when the Three Lions face Iran.

The Verdict

Bellingham was a breakout star at Birmingham and it was only a matter of time before he represented England in the World Cup.

England will be aiming to go all the way in Qatar, having come so close in recent international tournaments.

Bellingham could prove to be a key player to the team’s potential success.

It would also not come as a surprise to see the midfielder become the subject of a huge transfer move come the summer, with some of Europe’s biggest clubs surely keeping tabs on his future at Dortmund.