Manchester United had watched Jude Bellingham no fewer than 46 times prior to his move to Borussia Dortmund. Mike Phelan likened him to Steven Gerrard & Paul Scholes, but they were unable to bring him to Old Trafford. MUFC | BVB ➡️
Bellingham possesses plenty of intangible qualities that you simply cannot capture in the data. His maturity, composure, and leadership all stand out as traits required to perform at the top level, where he already has plenty of experience.
While Bellingham did contribute eight assists in the Bundesliga last season, it would be crass to appraise his direct attacking numbers in any way — given his role in the Dortmund team. Instead, we could work back to break down his overall contribution to his team’s attacking play via his shot-creating actions.
Bellingham does not simply play the pass to his team-mate, he commits opposing players with his weaving dribbles in central areas, opening up space elsewhere for colleagues or drawing fouls to set up another attack. His 3.3 attempted dribbles per 90 minutes last season was among the top five per cent of all Bundesliga midfielders.
And look there in the six-yard box. Who in a yellow shirt has put in the extra yards to follow up on this threatening situation? Bellingham.