Jude Bellingham has told the Lions Den, which was broadcast on England’s official Youtube channel, that he is learning a lot from training with Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips.
Bellingham is regarded as one of the biggest talents of his generation, yet even he says that he is developing his game by playing with Phillips on the training ground.
The Leeds man may not quite have the same reputation as the 17-year-old wonderkid, who is valued at £100 million (EuroSport).
But it is highly interesting to see the respect that Bellingham has for him.
“I’m learning a lot from those guys,” Bellingham said, when asked about Phillips, Henderson and Rice.
“Hendo is really experienced, Dec is a bit younger but obviously a really good talent and Kalv has so many great attributes.
“There’s so much I can take from them, while showing the skills I already have and I’m only going to get better as a result of this experience.”
The battle to start
Phillips is actually fighting with Bellingham for a place in the England starting line-up.
The Leeds man staked his claim to feature prominently at the tournament with a quite brilliant display against Croatia last weekend.
Phillips was arguably England’s Man of the Match, as they picked up a 1-0 win.
The display should secure the Leeds academy graduate’s spot in the starting line-up for tomorrow against Scotland.
But Bellingham also impressed off the bench, and it would be no surprise to see the teenager make his way into Gareth Southgate’s team at some stage.
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