‘He’s got everything’: Richards praises £135m man Chelsea reportedly want who starred in the World Cup today
Micah Richards has waxed lyrical about England’s Jude Bellingham during BBC’s coverage of the Three Lions’ opening World Cup game.
The Borussia Dortmund midfielder has been linked with a move to Chelsea, as the footballing world prepares for one of the biggest transfer sagas in recent memory.
Gareth Southgate’s side came out in dominant fashion in the tournament’s second game. England picked up a 6-2 win against Iran to kick-off their tournament in style.
Bellingham in particular was sensational on his World Cup debut, marking the occasion with a fine header to open the scoring.
His goal was quickly followed by a strike from Blues winger Raheem Sterling, with Mason Mount also putting in a fine display.
Before the game, Richards was extremely complimentary of the teenager, who went on to prove him completely right.
He said: “He’s outstanding every time I watched him in the Euro’s I was thinking he shovel be playing then.
Bellingham praised by Richards
“Now is his time to shine. What he’s doing at Dortmund week in week out, and how he’s improved on the ball, to making forward runs, defensive work, he’s got everything.
“He just needs to keep his feet on the ground and there’s no limits to where this player can go.”
With many of Europe’s best clubs likely to be interested in a deal for the Dortmund midfielder, Chelsea are set to face a huge battle to secure Bellingham’s services.
A deal to sign the teenager will not be cheap. A price of £135m has already been quoted as a minimum to prize him from the Bundesliga.
Todd Boehly is reportedly working hard behind the scenes to get the Blues caught up in the work required to complete the deal, with it being believed at the club that Liverpool and Real Madrid are further ahead in their bid to sign him.
With Bellingham’s performance today, it shows he is ready to compete at the very highest level on a regular basis.
