MIKE KEEGAN: Bellingham is England standout and is blameless in a losing cause
Consolation was on Sir Paul McCartney’s mind when he penned Hey Jude in 1968. He will not have been aware that, more than 50 years later, those words would have acted as a blow-softener for executives of a football club in Germany.
The Beatles’ classic, which he wrote to soothe Cynthia, wife of John Lennon, following their split has become something of an anthem among England supporters at this World Cup on the back of the breakthrough performances of the brilliant Jude Bellingham.
And, while it will offer any assistance to those fans this morning, they could be forgiven belting out a rendition in the corridors of power at the Westfalenstadion, the home of Borussia Dortmund.
Officials at the Bundesliga giants were already resigned to losing the super-talented son of Stourbridge before a ball was kicked in Qatar – but what they wanted was an auction.
And that is what they appear to have got. Bellingham has been an England standout and was a driving force here, blameless in a losing cause.
He leaves with his reputation enhanced with another all-action performance. The only difference was that it ends with defeat but for Bellingham, who has achieved so much already, the journey is only just beginning.
Unlike his former Dortmund team-mate, currently on a break from lighting up the Premier League, there is no release clause.
Dortmund went into the tournament hoping for 150m euros. That is now almost guaranteed. There is a relationship between Dortmund and City on the back of the Haaland deal and there is a quiet optimism at the Etihad Stadium that they stand in good stead.
Pep Guardiola has already gone on record with his admiration, branding the 19-year-old ‘the whole package’ and hailing his development in Germany following a move from Birmingham City that netted the Blues £30m.
Bellingham’s contract will expire two years from next summer. ‘The way the World Cup has gone, they can’t afford to keep him,’ one well-informed source explained.
There was little here to quieten the noise on a night of what-might-have-been. In a testing first-half the it was the teenager who led England’s response.
One minute he was stopping Antoine Greizmann in his tracks, the next he was gliding past France defenders in search of Harry Kane. It spoke volumes that, on the stroke of half-time, Kylian Mbappe was trying to get him sent off for a perfectly fair tackle on Theo Hernandez.
Moments after the break Ousmane Dembele went in the book for a cynical tackle from behind on a breaking Bellingham who then had Hugo Lloris at full stretch with a searing drive – before a clever give and go with Bukayo Saka created a penalty from virtually nothing.
England should not have lost here and Olivier Giroud’s sucker-punch or Harry Kane’s missed penalty will not alter the narrative.
Bellingham should have at least three more World Cups to look forward to as the Three Lions seek an elusive crown.
How does this play out now? Bellingham’s father, Mark, looks after his affairs and keeps his cards close to his chest.
Aside from City, Real Madrid and Liverpool are keen. Insiders believe it would be folly to rule out Paris Saint-Germain, funded by gas from the same land Bellingham has set alight.
There will have been undercover agents within camp. In the red corner, there is Jordan Henderson, ably-assisted by Trent Alexander-Arnold, while Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, Phil Foden and Kalvin Phillips may have a thing to say.
Now England are out, Bellingham will head back to Dortmund where talks with sporting director Sebastian Kehl await ahead of what is now an inevitable summer move.
Two years ago McCartney’s handwritten lyrics for Hey Jude fetched around £750,000, nine times their estimated value. Let the bidding commence.
