Jude Bellingham's former coach praises England star's desire

Jude Bellingham's erstwhile manager says his "desire to beryllium the precise champion astatine everything" is what puts him up of different young footballers.

The 19-year-old England prima has praised Mike Dodds, who worked with him astatine Birmingham City, and said helium had developed him arsenic a subordinate and a person.

Mr Dodds said they had a "natural connection" and inactive talked regularly.

He said helium was much arrogant of that narration than the midfielder's World Cup performances.

Mr Dodds, present archetypal squad manager astatine Sunderland, said Bellingham, who starred successful England's 3-0 triumph implicit Senegal connected Sunday, had intelligibly been talented erstwhile helium had travel to Birmingham, but truthful were "most seven-year-olds that travel into astir academies up and down the country".

It was the Stourbridge-born boy's cognition "to immoderate helium turned his manus to" which acceptable him apart, the manager told BBC Radio 4's Today's programme.

He said that had been reflected successful his determination to Germany to play for Borussia Dortmund astatine the property of 17.

Mr Dodds said: "He astir apt could person made easier decisions successful presumption of his manner and his family, but helium wanted to marque a footballing decision, what was champion for his vocation and what helium thought was the adjacent measurement for him."

Bellingham's record-setting show against Senegal led England team-mate Phil Foden to marque a bold prediction astir the 19-year-old's future.

"I don't privation to large him up excessively overmuch due to the fact that helium is inactive young, but he's 1 of the astir talented players I person ever seen," Foden, 22, told ITV.

Bellingham has praised his erstwhile manager and said: "He's developed maine arsenic a subordinate and besides a person, truly since I was a kid. He's moulded the idiosyncratic I americium today.

"A batch of the crushed I play the mode I bash is due to the fact that of him."

Mr Dodds said they clicked due to the fact that they were precise akin personalities and knew erstwhile to enactment hard and erstwhile to person a laughter together.

"I conscionable deliberation it was authentic," helium said.

He described the teenager, who scored England's archetypal extremity astatine the Qatar World Cup, arsenic a "wonderful quality being" and added: "I deliberation the bully happening is we don't truly speech astir shot now, we speech astir mean beingness stuff."

Mr Dodds said helium was often asked astir his erstwhile player's performances, but replied: "I deliberation I'm astir apt much arrogant of the information that we person a narration that transcends beyond the shot pitch."