“Here’s Walker on the right-hand side, looking for the run of Saka. Good pass, Saka now with the chance to cross, and Bellingham is THEREEE…”
Just for a second, BBC 5 Live’s football correspondent John Murray loses his cool. Even after more than 2,000 matches on commentary, Jude Bellingham can do that to you.
Next to Murray is Matthew Upson, scorer of a major tournament header of his own for England, wearing the wide-eyed grin of a giddy teenager who’s just seen a girl he’s convinced he’ll marry.
This is the Bellingham effect, that intangible attraction which has convinced the notoriously fickle Real Madrid fanbase that a 20-year-old from Stourbridge can bring about the Rapture.
With an almost impossible combination of footballing brilliance, easy charm and striking good looks, Bellingham strums the heartstrings with the virtuoso grace of a master harpist. In a game increasingly devoid of feeling, he makes you feel anything is possible.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that Murray tells i Bellingham is his favourite player in the England squad to commentate on.
“It’s the potential of what he could do, the all-round game he has,” the 58-year-old explains.
“He’s brilliant to commentate on as a radio commentator, because there’s so much to describe about him. He’s such an all-action player, he’s always so involved.
“He’s a little bit like Bryan Robson was because he’s expressive, because of what he does, how he carries himself, the way that he interacts with his teammates. There’s so much there for me to work with as a commentator.”
Bellingham is already cultivating a reputation as a seizer and creator of moments, as a conqueror of odds and opposition defences. His first European Championship goal to ease his edgy nation past Serbia. A 91st-minute El Clasico winner. A 92nd-minute El Clasico winner. A 95th-minute strike to beat Getafe. This is what makes a legend in real time.
“That’s how it is with the big players, the great players, at a tournament like this,” Murray says. “As a commentator, when they’re on the ball in a dangerous area, it is always there in your mind that this could lead to something really special.”
Bellingham has scored just four England goals, although three of these have come in his past five games having shifted from centre-mid to No 10. He’s also created three goals in the same period, highlighting his significance to Gareth Southgate’s side. As was highlighted in a ubiquitous first-half against Serbia, everything now goes through Jude.
“It feels very different to commentate on a team with Bellingham in it,” Murray explains. “It’s something I’ve never seen before, for a young player like that to come in and just have that assurance. He has a heck of a lot loaded onto his shoulders in terms of pressure, what he’s expected to do, and yet he seems to be able to take it in stride.
“He is remarkable. I just hope that he goes on to fulfil what he could do over the course of the next decade or so. For all of the stars that England have got in their team, Bellingham just brings a different dimension. You feel it.”
Another impressive young midfielder in England’s Euro 2024 squad is Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo. Murray was among the first journalists to interview the now-18-year-old, ahead of his international debut in March.
“We kind of got first crack at him, which is always a nice thing to do, when you’re able to sit down with someone like that right at the start of what I hope will be a long international career,” Murray says.
“He was very interesting on his family, on the influence of his parents. He was telling me that they’ve instilled in him that manners are a really important thing for getting on in life and he was utterly, unfailingly polite.
“He was telling me about his Manchester United heroes, Scholes, Rooney and Eric Cantona – he said that had come from his dad. That very much chimed in with the confidence that he has on the field.”
Murray will be in Frankfurt to call the next episode of the Wonderful World of Jude Bellingham, England’s match against Denmark on Thursday afternoon. The 20-year-old is becoming mandatory viewing, and it isn’t hard to see why.
Audiences can watch and listen to live coverage of Euro 24 across BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, Radio, BBC Sounds and Online
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