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Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
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Photo by Paul Harding - The FA/The FA via Getty Images
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Photo by Richard Martin-Roberts - CameraSport via Getty Images
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Ahead of England’s clash against Czechia on Tuesday night, Bellingham is in line to win his 60th cap and could secure his 30th goal or assist. Rio Ferdinand discussed Bellingham’s form on his YouTube channel.
Comparing Bellingham to Lampard at 23, Ferdinand believes the Madrid star has surpassed the Chelsea icon. The former Man United star also believes he has overtaken Steven Gerrard and Zinedine Zidane.
“Mr. Jude Bellingham, if you compare what he’s done at 23 to other legends; Steven Gerrard was just named Liverpool captain at 23. Frank Lampard joined Chelsea 6 days before turning 23,” Ferdinand said.
“Zidane made his France debut at 22, Xavi was just about to become a key player for Barcelona and didn’t win his first UCL until 26. I’m not saying he’s better than these, but at 23 NONE of them can look at him.”
Frank Lampard pushed Chelsea to sign Jude Bellingham
Things could have been very different for Bellingham. Of course, the England superstar came through at Birmingham and after 44 senior outings, he joined Dortmund. His form in Germany caught Madrid’s eye.
But while at Birmingham, Bellingham could have easily joined a Premier League club instead of going abroad. Indeed, Lampard said he had tried to convince Chelsea to get him on John Obi Mikel’s podcast.
“When I was managing at Chelsea (first time) I was desperate to bring Jude Bellingham in. But I couldn’t get it through upstairs – the idea of paying £20m for someone his age (at the time)…” Lampard said.
Understandable at the time, given it was a lot of money and quite the risk spending so big on a player that might not make it. At Dortmund, he joined the perfect club to allow him to continue developing.