20-year-old Jude Bellingham has been hailed as outstanding by Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti after his debut for Los Blancos in LaLiga.
Bellingham was signed for €103 million by Los Blancos who are preparing to move on from their trusted but ageing midfield core.
Casemiro was the first to move when he joined Manchester United last summer. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are set to leave the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the 2023/24 season.
Bellingham now joins Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni as the new midfield trio for the 14-time UEFA Champions League winners.
He fit right into the team from the start and was on the scoresheet in his debut. After Rodrygo Goes had opened the scoring in the 28th minute against Athletic Club Bilbao at the San Mames, Bellingham volleyed in a David Alaba cross off the ground and into the net eight minutes later. The midfielder was surrounded by excited teammates but he drew the ire of the away fans when he posed in front of them to celebrate.
Ancelotti chose to look past all that and instead at the England international’s amazing debut when speaking about him in his post-match interview.
“He’s a player with a lot of personality,” Ancelotti said after the match. “He adapts very quickly to the team’s system because he has a strong personality. “It seems like he has been with us for a long time, he’s a player with a very high level.
“Bellingham is outstanding and the team feels comfortable playing that way,” he continued. “We adapted the defensive aspect and we worked really well on the wings with [Eduardo] Camavinga and [Fede] Valverde.”
Bellingham’s dream debut was watered down by the injury picked up by Eder Miliatao. The Brazilian defender ruptured his ACL during the match and will be out for a number of months, leaving Madrid short-staffed in defence.
The 35-time LaLiga champions will have to delve into the transfer market once again to strengthen their defence in a short time while Bellingham and his teammates prepare for their next LaLiga tie against UD Almeria.
Militao’s injury comes as the club are still struggling to handle the fallout of Thibaut Courtois’ ACL injury which he picked up in their last training before the season began. They have signed Kepa Arrizabalaga on loan from Chelsea to hold the fort down until the Belgian recovers in around six to nine months.
Ancelotti, meanwhile, will be happy that his new signing, Bellingham, is proving to be valuable for the fee the club paid for him.
