Can Jude Bellingham really become an all-time great?
Jude Bellingham produced a virtuoso performance on Saturday as England demolished Croatia 7-0 in the Nations League, prompting Roy Keane to claim the Real Madrid star can become one of the best ever. But how close to the truth is this?
Bellingham’s display as the Three Lions demolished Croatia may well be the best he has produced in his career to date. The 23-year-old scored once and provided three assists in the historic success.
The Real Madrid star’s overall display, meanwhile, was formidable. He touched the ball 108 times, completed eight key passes, completed nine progressive carries and won 57% of his duels.
What did Keane say about Bellingham?
“Bellingham can go on to be one of the greatest players of all time,” former Manchester United midfielder Keane told ITV Sport.
“At this moment in time, he is an amazing footballer. The package – his running power, his delivery, his goal threat. The way he is progressing as a player, I still think there is a lot more to come from him.
“He has been fantastic in possession, but what he does out of possession lifts all these other players.
How good is Bellingham now and how good can he become?
Bellingham’s status as one of the best players in the world is confirmed by SciSports, which gives each player a SciSkill rating based on in-game data points.
What might be surprising about Bellingham, though, is that he is still some way down the ranking even among central midfield players.
Indeed, according to its analysis, the Englishman’s form has declined marginally over the course of the last six months. There’s certainly no suggestion that he’s a poor player – just one who does not produce the type of level he showed against Croatia on a regular basis.
This assertion is backed by SofaScore, which shows that Bellingham has an average rating of over 7.5 in only three of the prior 11 months. Interestingly, two of those three months were when he was with England at the World Cup, suggesting he performs better in Tuchel’s system than in Madrid.
Compare that to the leading Ballon d’Or contenders: Mbappe was above 7.5 in 6/11 months (including over 8 on four occasions), Kane was 7/11 and Lamine 8/11. Bellingham is not at this absolutely elite level yet.
But what about in the future? He’s only 23, after all. Does he have it in him to become an all-time great?
SciSports is certainly of the belief that he can become one of the best players of his generation. It calculates that he has a potential SciSkill of 136.0 – a higher mark than any other central midfielder in the game currently.
In terms of overall ability, though, if he were at this standard today, he would be the sixth best player in the world, trailing Luis Diaz, Lamine Yamal, Erling Haaland, Michael Olise and Harry Kane.
Previous estimates from SciSports put Bellingham’s ceiling above 150.0, clear of anyone in the world, but those came when he was at his absolute peak in the months shortly after joining Real Madrid. His form has plateaued since then and his potential has gradually dropped.
Bellingham can be great - but Keane may be getting ahead of himself
Keane’s assertion that Bellingham can become an all-time great appears to be based primarily on his level with England rather than his week-to-week performances with Real Madrid, where he is still extremely good, but not absolutely stellar.
Bellingham has the capability to become the best midfielder in the world, but the data suggests that he will have to find a way to replicate his Three Lions form on a weekly basis with Los Blancos to become the world’s best, let alone one of the all-time greats.
