Jude Bellingham critics accused of ‘making things up’ as England team-mates back midfielder

Jude Bellingham has been described as a “world-class person” by Jordan Henderson, who has accused those criticising the midfielder’s behaviour of “making things up.”

Bellingham was the shock omission from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the forthcoming games against Wales and Latvia.

Debate over his character was sparked earlier this year when Tuchel revealed his mother found Bellingham’s on-pitch behaviour “repulsive”, although the England head coach later apologised for his incorrect choice of words.

It will be five years since Bellingham made his England debut as a substitute against the Republic of Ireland next month and Henderson was the man tasked with rewarding the then 17-year-old with his first cap.

Henderson, 35, is in Tuchel’s latest squad and has backed Bellingham to bounce straight back from his omission while also hitting back over doubts regarding the 22-year-old’s attitude.

“The players know what Jude is like as a person and as a player,” said Henderson. “He is a world-class player and a world-class person, and he makes the England team, when he plays, even better because of the type of player that he is.

“The perception outside … they don’t know. Do you know what I mean? They are guessing. They are making things up, ultimately. From the outside, you can never listen to noise or media or things like that, because a lot of the time it can be untrue or it can be misinterpreted.

“Not specifically with Jude, but fans see a player on the pitch and take that for how they are off the pitch? He’s a bit stroppy or whatever. Maybe that’s why I get booed a lot! But they can be two different things, how they are on and off the pitch. A lot of the time, players on the pitch are totally different people to what you see on the pitch.”

Henderson took Bellingham under his wing when the Real Madrid star first broke into the England squad and the pair struck up a close friendship.

“It was just natural, really,” explained Henderson. “I felt like when Jude first came into camp, mentally he was really mature for his age. Doing the right things, his work ethic, the way he was seeing the game, I felt he was ahead of his years really. I think I presented him with his first cap. Little things like that I suppose just add on.

“What Jude has achieved in his career so far, at such a young age, doesn’t just happen. He has got an elite mentality. So he will just keep working hard. He has been coming back from a long injury in his shoulder that has been niggling him for quite some time now.

“I think it is just about getting back to full fitness, making sure that his shoulder is fully recovered, that he gets minutes on the pitch, that he gets a rhythm. I am sure he will take this time over the next week or so over the international period to make sure fitness wise, he is raring to go afterwards. We are talking about a world-class player here.”

Anthony Gordon also backed his England team-mate and said: “You definitely notice when he is not here because he is such a big presence, such a big player. I think we all know that if he is playing week in, week out for Real Madrid, he is going to be in the England team.”

Asked if Bellingham is England’s generational talent, Henderson added: “He is very special, very special. We have a few special players in this squad, to be fair. But, with Jude, I think we all knew he was a very special player when he first came into the squad.

“The way he trains, the way he lives his life around football, loves the game, wants to improve and there is the ability that he has on the pitch. He is a world-class player and I know there will be a lot of stories and a lot of headlines, but for him, it is just about focusing on football.

“He has been injured for a good few months. I know what he is like, he will be focused on his football, focused on making sure that he is as fit as possible, so when he returns he is flying over the next few weeks.”

[Source: Daily Telegraph]