If Jermaine Pennant tuned in to Wednesday’s Champions League clash between Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City, he would have been forgiven for feeling a strong pang of vindication.
Eyebrows were certainly raised 14 months ago when Pennant compared a 16-year-old Jude Bellingham to his one-time Anfield teammate Steven Gerrard.
Gerrard is, after all, one of the finest and most influential central midfielders ever to have played on English soil. Bellingham, in contrast, was just a few months into his professional career with Championship strugglers Birmingham City.
“He’s a fantastic player. He reminds me of a young Steven Gerrard,” Pennant told talkSPORT in February 2020.
“He throws himself about, he can get up and down the pitch, he can score goals and assist goals, he’s got trickery. He’s a fantastic young player.
“I’m surprised there are not more teams interested in him than just Chelsea and Manchester United because he is a really special talent.
“What he can achieve in his career is frightening.”
As Bellingham gave Dortmund the lead during an intriguing quarter-final clash with Pep Guardiola’s star-studded City side at Signal Iduna Park, it was impossible not be reminded of Gerrard in his pomp.
Pennant, it seems, had a point.
The 17-year-old sensation controlled a loose ball as if he had all the time in the world, shifting onto his right foot before planting an inch-perfect shot into the back of Ederson’s net. Not a bad way to open your Champions League account; the sort of ruthless, 20-yard finish Gerrard once made his trademark.
According to EuroSport, Liverpool would love nothing more than to see Bellingham follow in the footsteps of their legendary captain on the red half of Merseyside.
Bellingham has plenty of admirers at Anfield although, some two months before his 18th birthday, there is already a grudging acceptance that this lightning-in-a-bottle footballer would probably set Liverpool back a club-record transfer fee.
Dortmund are apparently convinced that arguably the finest central midfield player of his generation will command a sum in excess of £100 million before long.
Players as mature, as complete, and frighteningly efficient as Gerrard and Bellingham tend to burst onto the scene once in a blue moon. And, if Pennant was right all those months ago, that £100 million price-tag could one day feel like a bargain.
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