Jude Bellingham started well but has struggled at Euro 2024 (Photo: Getty)
Gareth Southgate and England’s senior players have a responsibility to help Jude Bellingham after his ‘inexperienced’ displays at Euro 2024.
That is the opinion of Rio Ferdinand, who was reacting to the Three Lions’ latest underwhelming performance in the goalless draw with Slovenia.
Many of England’s stars have been criticised for their efforts at the tournament so far, with star player and golden boy Bellingham starting to feel the heat despite an impressive start.
He scored the winner and was named player of the match in the 1-0 victory over Serbia but was completely ineffective in the draws with Denmark and Slovenia.
Last season, Bellingham won numerous accolades as he scored 23 goals and made 13 assists in his debut season for Real Madrid, winning La Liga and the Champions League – all the more remarkable given he’ll only turn 21 later this week.
For his club he plays as a No.10 and Southgate has looked to replicate this for England, but so far it’s hardly worked and his lack of chemistry with his attacking teammates is painfully obvious.
Many have suggested dropping him deeper into midfield, but Ferdinand also believes the young star needs advice from his manager and teammates, especially Declan Rice.
Can Declan Rice form an unstoppable midfield with Bellingham? (Photo: Getty)
‘Jude Bellingham has been given an unbelievable last year in terms of press, PR, hype and he has deserved every single ounce of it,’ the former Manchester United and England defender said on FIVE.
‘He’s been phenomenal. He’s done stuff that we haven’t seen before, he’s won the lot.
‘But in this tournament, I’m seeing a 20-year-old playing at times. He scored a goal, looked magnificent in the first 45 minutes but there’s traits of a 20-year-old, inexperienced player that needs a bit of guidance.
Gareth Southgate needs to get Bellingham back to his best (Photo: Getty)
‘This is the responsibility of the manager and the other senior players in the team and I think responsibility in his performance and reliability is what we need now.
‘You’ve got Declan Rice in there now. I think he’s doing a good job, played well again yesterday, but you need Jude to be your number eight and you need him to be a reliable, responsible number eight.
‘In this team there’s other players that can do that [No.10 role] and playing with a bit more freedom like [Phil] Foden or Cole Palmer when he comes in.
‘I want to see Jude being the number 8, solid box-to-box, reliable player that forms a partnership and a bond with his other midfield partners that we go, “that is f***ing hard to play against”.
‘That is a solid area and they’ve got feet, they’ve got guile when they need to. They can play with their heads up and play forward and play quick, one-twos. Reliable in and out of position.’
England play their last-16 game on Sunday, and Bellingham, who will be 21 by then, will be aiming to put in a much improved performance.
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