Brendan Rodgers becomes latest admirer of ‘phenomenal’ Birmingham youngster
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has singled out Jude Bellingham when praising Birmingham City ahead of their FA Cup clash on Wednesday.
The 16-year-old is in his debut season for his boyhood club but already has 31 appearances and four goals to his name. Bellingham has caught the eyes of top Premier League clubs, including Manchester United and Liverpool, who have previously been linked with the England U17 international with a fee of around £20m being speculated.
Bellingham is a box-to-box, tenacious and skillful midfielder. After becoming the club’s youngest ever player with his debut against Portsmouth in the EFL Cup first round, he has also gone on to become the club’s youngest ever scorer. He won the EFL Young Player of the Month award in November 2019, just another accolade to note in a stunning first season.
Rodgers had this to say about Bellingham: “They have got some talented players, particularly the young boy Bellingham who at 16 years of age is an absolutely phenomenal player.
“Having worked in the Championship and understanding how tough that is, to play week in week out at that level and for a kid of 16-years-of-age to show that sort of quality and personality and talent alongside that is incredible really.”
Rodgers also commented on his aims for the rest of Leicester’s season, the start of which looked like bringing a Premier League title challenge. Now that has faded away, they are aiming to finish the season strongly and Rodgers sees the FA Cup as a perfect way to do that.
The Leicester boss said: “The game’s about confidence and when you lose some games, the confidence can be dented. That’s the management of it. We have to pick players up whose confidence may have dropped.
“In football you are never going to have it all your own way.
“Up until the middle of December was great for us but then you have to suffer. That is important because suffering will make you better.
“We have to learn from that and that is the mentality you need to play in the position of the table you want to be in.
“This is the great challenge that we have now going into this last part of the season.”