Michael Owen thinks Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham should favour a move to the Premier League over Real Madrid.
A report on Wednesday insisted that Real Madrid ‘believe they’ve won’ the race to sign Bellingham in the summer despite Liverpool still being ‘desperate to sign him’.
Bellingham was already the subject of strong interest from around Europe before the World Cup – but his performances in Qatar for England have solidified the view that he is on course to become the best midfielder in the world.
He will cost any interested party £100m plus in transfer fees with former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker Owen hoping he can ignore the lure of continuing to play abroad.
“I think he has to come back to the Premier League,” Owen told the Daily Telegraph.
“He has done very well in Germany and made that decision to leave Birmingham when he was very young so he would get the opportunity to play. Dortmund have a massive asset on their hands.
“The Premier League is the biggest and best league in the world, it is just a question of which club can afford him? There aren’t many around because he is a special, special talent. He’s going to be one of the best around.”
Former England international Owen initially thought Bellingham was “wasting energy” due to his playing style but he now appreciates that he does all the “crappy jobs” for his team-mates.
Owen added: “He’s got attributes that make him a complete midfielder. We don’t see him every week because he’s out in the Bundesliga but what struck me was how giving he is.
“By that I mean he plays for the team not himself. He does almost too much and at first I thought, ‘Jeez Jude, you’re wasting energy covering too much ground because of your inexperience.’
“I was wrong, the more I watch him, I love the way he plays. A lot of people when they become very good, it almost becomes uncool to do the hard yards and the stuff you don’t really get loads of praise.
“He is so grounded, he does good things, great runs and scores goals, but when players make a name for themselves they sometimes save their energy for the big, headline grabbing moments.
“He does the stuff managers and team-mates really notice. I hope he keeps the hunger to do all the crappy jobs as it were. He works his nuts off. I’ve fallen in love with him.”
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