Jude Bellingham is carrying England’s World Cup charge.
The Real Madrid star scored twice against Mexico before another brace against Norway fired the Three Lions into a mouthwatering semi-final against Argentina.
Former Spurs captain Ledley King discussed Bellingham, and Tottenham’s struggle to retain their best players on The Managers, sponsored by LiveScore, hosted by Mick McCarthy and Tony Pulis.
Ledley King compares Jude Bellingham to Dele Alli
King believes Bellingham shares Dele’s priceless ability to arrive inside the box at exactly the right moment.
Discussing Bellingham’s movement, King said: “Do you know who he reminds me of? Dele Alli when he was at his best.”
Dele was never a conventional midfielder. He drifted into dangerous areas, attacked the spaces around Harry Kane and regularly appeared inside the box before defenders realised he had escaped them. Dele scored 18 Premier League goals during the 2016-17 campaign, thriving behind Kane and becoming one of English football’s most dangerous late runners.
King sees the same quality in Bellingham.
He added: “He had the same ability to arrive in the box.”
Bellingham brings plenty beyond goals, but his timing separates him from many other midfielders. He can dictate possession, carry the ball through pressure and then surge beyond the striker to finish attacks himself.
Those runs have become a major weapon for England. Bellingham charges with purpose, power and the belief that the decisive moment belongs to him.
King explains Tottenham’s struggle to progress
The conversation then turned towards Tottenham and why the club have frequently failed to build on periods of promise.
He explained: “I always felt with us, we always lost our best players.”
Tottenham produced and developed elite footballers, only to see several depart when Europe’s biggest clubs came calling. That cycle made it difficult to preserve momentum, even when Spurs appeared ready to take the next step.
King was responsible for maintaining standards inside the dressing room while the squad around him continued to change.
He said: “My job as a captain was trying to obviously keep the group together, but continue to keep progressing.”
That was no easy task.
Spurs possessed the talent to threaten the established elite, particularly during their rise under Harry Redknapp, but losing major figures repeatedly interrupted that progress.
For King, Tottenham’s history is not short of quality or potential. The greater problem has been keeping their strongest groups together long enough to turn promise into dominance. Roberto De Zerbi’s task is to stop that cycle.
His arrival has already helped Spurs keep their best players, while new signings such as Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Jan Paul van Hecke underline the club’s ambition.
He must now turn that investment into lasting progress.
