Birmingham City could have a repeat of Jude Bellingham on their hands in the form of academy goalkeeper Alfie Smith.
The 14-year-old prodigy recently became the youngest player to play for the club’s Under 18s side since Bellingham himself.
Smith looks set to become the latest hugely talented youngster to progress through the Blues’ academy, which has produced several gems in recent years.
The youngster’s achievements were even recognised by Bellingham, with the Real Madrid and England star liking a post by the club on Instagram.
Such has been the rise of Bellingham in recent years, that he will surely become the new comparison for impressive academy talents up and down the country.
In this instance though, where a player has repeated one of the Stourbridge-born midfielder’s previous feats, there really are similarities.
Smith has been on the bench for the Under 18s before, but made his first ever start at that age group on Saturday, in their 4-3 win over Ipswich Town.
Despite the fact he only turned 14 as recently as December, The Daily Mail understands that his progress has already alerted clubs from higher up the pyramid. He is due to sign a scholarship at Birmingham this summer, with the League One outfit unsurprisingly keen to tie him down for the next stage of his development, at least.
Remarkably, Smith started out as a striker, and has also represented his county at centre half in the past.
Now plying his trade between the posts, the youngster has already been involved in development camps as part of the national team’s setup.
Birmingham are believed to be prepared for higher league clubs to come calling at some point over the summer, but they are hopeful that they will be able to provide a quick and direct pathway to first-team football that can keep their latest young star at the club for as long as possible.
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Bellingham comparisons will continue to grow
If Smith continues to develop as expected at Birmingham, it is only natural that comparisons with Bellingham will continue to increase as he nears first-team football.
Jude Bellingham
The England superstar’s story is well-publicised by now, and is arguably one of the most incredible pathways the modern game has seen.
It’s easy to forget that he’s still only 21, given the way that big moments tend to follow him around. His stoppage-time overhead kick to save England from embarrassment against Slovakia last summer was surely a sign of what is to come from him at international level.
Birmingham City's youngest ever players (as per Transfermarkt)
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His younger brother Jobe is another success story. Although he now plays for Sunderland, the younger Bellingham brother (also a midfielder), became Birmingham’s second-youngest player of all-time when he debuted for the first-team back in January 2022.
While Smith is a long way off that for now, with every milestone that passes in his development, excitement and anticipation over his future will surely grow.
Playing Under 18s football is a big step in the journey of any young footballer and, while it’s a big ask for Smith to be playing first-team games in just two years’ time, given some of the talent that Birmingham have produced in recent years, it perhaps shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.