Michael Owen has told Jude Bellingham he must come back to England and showcase his talent in the Premier League as he continues to be linked with a number of clubs across Europe.
Liverpool have made the 19-year-old their main transfer target while the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City and Manchester United are also believed to be keeping tabs on the England international.
The dynamic midfielder has enjoyed a successful spell at Borussia Dortmund ever since leaving Birmingham City two years ago but Owen believes his futures lies in the English top-flight.
“I think he has to come back to the Premier League,” Owen told the Daily Telegraph (via Football 365).
“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.”
Bellingham covers every single blade of grass whenever he plays and his work rate in the middle of the park doesn’t go unnoticed.
Owen admits that he was unsure at first whether the teenager was disciplined enough to be a central midfielder but he’s now realised that the Dortmund No. 22 does the ‘hard yards’ for the rest of his teammates and he’s ‘fallen in love’ with the youngster.
“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.”
Liverpool are expected to push hard for the signing of Bellingham at the end of the season but there is also speculation that the Reds are considering moves for Morocco’s Sofyan Amrabat and World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez.
Jurgen Klopp and Co. are going to be busy in the next few transfer windows as the German tactician looks to strengthen his current options to ensure we remain as competitive as possible for the foreseeable future.