When Wayne Rooney came to Germany for the 2006 World Cup, he was 20 years old but a preternaturally mature 20.
It was his second major tournament having dazzled at Euro 2004, and he had just completed his second season at Manchester United.
He too was talked of as one of the best players in the world already, never mind for the future.
Rooney is always worth listening to, but especially on the topic of Bellingham — and Rooney detected an ominous sense of frustration in him:
💬 “For me, he’s looked very frustrated. I’ve been there, in exactly the position he’s in.”
There is a sense of something bubbling in Bellingham, an energy needing to be channelled the right way.
Having turned 21 during the tournament, Bellingham found an overhead kick in the final seconds of England’s last-16 survival against Slovakia to do it.
Today, he gets another chance to cement his reputation from all he has already achieved — and potentially so much more.