HEY JUDE
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BIRMINGHAM wonderkid Jude Bellingham is closing in on a sensational £30million transfer to the Theatre of Dreams.
But the Stourbridge lad is already 'living the dream' in the Championship - despite only being on £145 a week!
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SunSport has exclusively revealed that Manchester United have made a staggering £30m bid for the 16-year-old who has only played 26 games for the Midlanders.
He has been touted as England's most exciting talent since Wayne Rooney, and could be about to follow in his foosteps to Old Trafford.
Bellingham is Birmingham youngest ever goalscorer and has become a mainstay of the Blues team this season, netting four times and winning numerous man-of-the-match awards along the way.
And three of those strikes being at his beloved St Andrew's has already meant many of his dreams have come true.
But the biggest one could be just around the corner - as is a bumper new deal when he turns 17 on June 29.
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After netting in the 1-1 draw with Cardiff, his manager Pep Clotet insisted his star teen was keen to "build a dream" with Brum - but with interest from United and previously Bayern Munich, that seems unlikely.
The Spanish gaffer said: "Jude is is performing on a good level.
"I think he is happy in this club and is helping us to build something and is helping us to build a dream to improve our football style as we saw in the first half.
“We are doing it with youth, giving them that opportunity. Jude is helping us on this. Jude is very focused on his job and I have never seen him distracted.
“We are aware he is being watched. From the beginning he has been watched since he was 13 or 14.
“For the Middlesbrough game half of Europe was here. He is used to it and I am used to it. I have always said it is very good that clubs show interest in our players because this means that we have good players.
“I think Jude is very happy with what he’s doing, we are very happy with him, he’s growing and I see him very focused on us.
“It’s his club, his people he is living a dream that comes from the work that he and a lot of people in the academy put together to reach this level. He understands that.
“At the end of the day I do have the feeling that Jude will stay he is very happy here he knows it’s one of the right steps for his progression. He has played more than 20 games for us and that has a value.”
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There had been a buzz about the Man Utd target for some time and Francis asked people: “Who is he? They say he could beat my record.”
On August 31, he did just that — at 16 years and 63 days — when he grabbed the winner to sink Stoke.
It meant Bellingham eclipsed Francis for the second time in a month after becoming the youngest player to appear for Brum against Portsmouth in the Carabao Cup in August 6.
Francis scored four goals against Bolton for Birmingham as a 16-year-old in 1971 but Bellingham was determined to rewrite the record books.
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CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES
He admitted he had spent almost a decade planning his celebration — and scoring on his home debut made it even more special.
When he found the net, three minutes after team-mate Lukas Jutkiewicz had equalised, he knew exactly what he was going to do.
The boyhood Blues fan headed straight for ‘his people’ as he dived into the seats.
Since that moment, Bellingham has scored three more - netting a winner against Lee Bowyer's high-flying Charlton in a 1-0 win in mid-September, against Leeds in the incredible 5-4 loss in December and then against Cardiff.
And he has been earmarked as one of the most exciting teenage talents around but has calmly coped with the expectation that comes with it.
The kind of person I am meant I wanted to beat the record, or see how close I could get to it because I’ve heard how great Trevor Francis was.”
TREVOR FRANCIS COMPARISON
The Francis comparison is one that Bellingham was aware of.
He said: “The kind of person I am meant I wanted to beat the record, or see how close I could get to it because I’ve heard how great Trevor Francis was.”
Bellingham is also the youngest scorer in senior English league football since Jordon Ibe netted for Wycombe in October, 2011, aged 15 years and 325 days.
He added: “It was a dream come true. It’s what I’ve dreamt of since I was seven years old, as soon as I joined the Academy.
“A goal in front of the Tilton End, then into the crowd and that’s exactly what happened! As soon as that ball hit the net, I was off to celebrate with my people!
“Lukas had to save me from getting a booking but I’m a fan as well, so me being in there felt like celebrating as a boy. Scoring here made it even more special.”
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DAD PLAYED NON-LEAGUE
Bellingham’s dad Mark, a sergeant with West Midlands Police, was no slouch in front of goal himself as he has scored 700 goals in non-league football.
His son smiled and said: “If I get anywhere near that I’ll have had a great career. I’ll try my best! My mum, dad, brother, grandparents — they are the reason I’m here today, because of all the sacrifices they have made.
“Things like providing transport for training, supporting me when school’s been hard.
“It’s happened quickly but I’ve felt I was ready and I’m grateful to the manager who’s given me the opportunity. I’m eager to do more now.”
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This week, Bellingham captained England to glory in the under-17s Skyrenka Cup in Poland.
He scored against Finland and Austria, before leading his country to a penalty shootout victory over the hosts.
To top it off, Bellingham was also named player of the tournament. The future is certainly bright for this fledgling talent.
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