Jude Bellingham has messaged a Tottenham Hotspur academy graduate on Instagram.
Dennis Cirkin was considered one of Spurs’ most talented young players coming through, with Jose Mourinho once commenting on his ‘quality‘ during the Portuguese manager’s reign in North London.
That is, until the 20-year-old was sold by the Lilywhites under Nuno Espirito Santo last summer.
The Dublin-born defender ultimately joined Sunderland and supporters of the Stadium of Light outfit were swiftly praising him on Twitter following some barnstorming displays.
And now the young left-back will get to test himself in the Championship.
That’s because on Saturday, Cirkin helped the Black Cats win the League One playoff, completing 90 minutes in a 2-0 victory over Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley.
Here’s how the lad himself reacted to the victory on Instagram yesterday:
A number of existing Tottenham players, like Jack Clarke and Ryan Sessegnon responded to him, but the most flattering response came from Bellingham.
The Borussia Dortmund midfielder, heavily linked with a transfer to Liverpool in recent months, simply responded: “Player“, followed by a heart emoji to illustrate his affection for the Hotspur Way graduate.
It’ll be fascinating to see how Cirkin – who managed 34 League One starts at Sunderland this season – copes with the step-up in class next term.
The Championship is a very difficult and physical division, one that some very talented footballers have struggled in.
But if Cirkin is as good as Bellingham believes then, well, he’ll be more than capable of adjusting accordingly.
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