“I’d never heard of him apart from the last two games” - England legend makes baffling admission about Jude Bellingham ahead of Euro 2024
England icon Paul Gascoigne has made a rather baffling claim about Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham ahead of Euro 2024. This came as the former footballer was speaking about Gareth Southgate's decision to drop players like Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford.
Notably, Gascoigne named the two dropped players as the individuals he liked in the England squad, telling The Rest is Football podcast (via Sport Bible):
"I only know a couple. I like Jack Grealish because he always wants to be on the ball... I like Marcus Rashford, I think he's got some great talent. I think if he just livened up a little bit he'd be even better."
The decision to drop Jack Grealish could come from the winger's struggling form, as he only started one match in Manchester City's last seven Premier League games. Marcus Rashford, on the other hand, scored just seven goals in 33 league games for Manchester United. It is hardly any surprise that both players were dropped by Southgate ahead of EURO 2024.
Gascoigne also bizarrely claimed about not having heard about Jude Bellingham, who has been widely heralded as a generational talent:
"Bellingham - I'd never heard of him to be fair apart from the last two games. I was doing an interview and they said, 'What do you think of Bellingham?' I said, 'Who's he?' That was only a few weeks ago. I've [since] seen him play for Real Madrid and he was quality, so he's good."
Bellingham has taken the world by storm after making the switch from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid, making a name for himself as a goalscoring midfielder. The 20-year-old took to life at the Santiago Bernabeu well, scoring 19 goals in 28 La Liga games and will be an important player for England at the Euros.
Jude Bellingham to wear the No. 10 for England at EURO 2024
England's national team have released their numbers ahead of the European Championship in Germany. Bellingham, who wears the No. 5 for Real Madrid, has been handed the No. 10 jersey.
Jude Bellingham notably won the La Liga title with Los Blancos, before leading them to the Champions League final, which he won at Wembley.
Speaking after the young talent lifted the trophy, England boss Gareth Southgate made it clear that rest was paramount for Bellingham ahead of Euro 2024 (via GOAL):
"The most important thing for him is rest, recovery. We don't have the players than you do at a club to be so cohesive. At this moment, for Jude and for the team, it's to recover and psychologically switch off."
Jude Bellingham was not included in the squad that faced Bosnia and Iceland ahead of Euro 2024, with the midfielder getting some much-needed rest.