Comparing Jude Bellingham’s experience with other England stars at the same age

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham has more top-level experience than any of his England counterparts at the same age.

Aged just 19 years and 118 days, Bellingham has already made a total of 109 appearances for Dortmund (in the Bundesliga and the Champions League) and England.

Bellingham made the switch to Germany from boyhood club Birmingham when he was 17, a move Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola credits for accelerating his development.

“I think Borussia Dortmund is the perfect place for young talent to come,” he said. “Maybe if Jude Bellingham was in England he would go to City, (Manchester) United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal or Tottenham, maybe he would not get the minutes. The best thing for a young player to be better is to play minutes.”

Here, the PA news agency compares Bellingham’s experience with other England stars at the same age.

Prodigy

Jude Bellingham – 17 years, 136 days
Raheem Sterling – 17 years, 342 days
Jadon Sancho – 18 years, 201 days
Marcus Rashford – 18 years, 209 days
Bukayo Saka – 19 years, 33 days
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 19 years, 243 days
Declan Rice – 20 years, 67 days
Phil Foden – 20 years, 100 days
Mason Mount – 20 years, 240 days
Harry Kane – 21 years, 242 days

Bellingham made his Bundesliga, Champions League and England debuts in the space of just 54 days between September 19 and November 12, 2020, having celebrated his 17th birthday that June.

All three debuts came earlier than his England team-mates, with Raheem Sterling the only other member of recent squads to have appeared for his country before turning 18.

Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Chelsea’s Mason Mount were among those to spend time on loan at English Football League clubs before making the step up to the top flight, with Kane not making his England debut until the age of 21.

Bellingham has played 8,418 minutes of top-tier football since joining Dortmund just over two seasons ago.

He will make his 21st Champions League appearance as a teenager against Manchester City on Tuesday night, which is one short of the combined total made by Cristiano Ronaldo (10) and Lionel Messi (12) in their teens.

The midfielder has also racked up 72 matches in the Bundesliga, as well as 17 England caps.

As a result of his rapid development in Germany, Bellingham has accumulated more than twice as much big-game experience as any of his England counterparts at the same age.

Jadon Sancho – who followed a similar path to Bellingham by joining Dortmund as a teenager – is next on the list, ahead of Sterling who broke into the Liverpool team as a 17-year-old.

Almost 81 per cent of his Bundesliga, Champions League and England appearances have been gained from the start of matches, as opposed to coming off the bench.

Again, this is the highest of current England stars at the same age, with Bukayo Saka – a talisman for Arsenal over the past few seasons – next on 78 per cent.

When Phil Foden was Bellingham’s age, he had only started 23 per cent of his matches – a measure of how he was gradually introduced to the big stage by Guardiola.