When could that happen? Bellingham will celebrate his 23rd birthday in June and Knight believes the Stourbridge native could return to familiar surroundings before turning 30. He said: “Twenty-eight. I’m saying maybe 28 come back then. Why not? I don’t know. I mean, who knows? Who knows what he’s going to do, but if we became good, I think he would come back.
“Everything depends on what happens on the pitch. If we become, you know, even mid-table Premier League and if we achieve some of the things that our owners want to do in terms of the match-day experience. If they can amplify that and we’re winning, then, on a good day, I think we can.”
Bellingham has become a global superstar since leaving Birmingham, with a talismanic role being taken on with England as they ready themselves for another shot at World Cup glory this summer.
Knight admits that it took him longer than most to spot that Bellingham was special. He said: “I obviously don’t know much about football because I never noticed how great he was to begin with. Other people quite early on were saying that kid’s really got something special. And then bit by bit it became obvious that he was different. He was so good. And the way he left was so good because he made sure that Blues benefited.”