Bellingham's former tutor says ace is 'future England captain'

Jude Bellingham's former tutor has tipped the "humble" and "respectful" midfield ace to be a future England captain.

Jason Ramsay started teaching the 19-year-old after he left school to sign a scholarship at Birmingham City.

The Loughborough College lecturer says Bellingham was an "excellent" student who "met every deadline and target".

He says he showed "commitment and determination" to learning - even after signing for giants Borussia Dortmund.

Ahead of England's World Cup quarter-final fixture with France on Saturday, Mr Ramsay has spoken of his pride at what "special boy" Bellingham has achieved since he met him, aged 16.

"We're absolutely beaming with joy at how well he's doing," he said.

"I can't describe how proud I am.

"It's over the last three years that I've really got to know him; he's just brilliant, very respectful and so humble.

"With how well he was doing, kids his age could easily get carried away with the pressure and all the attention but he's got a very mature head on his shoulders and that just came across in the classroom."

Bellingham put away his country's first goal at the tournament against Iran to become the second ever teenager to have scored for England at a World Cup.

Mr Ramsay continued to tutor him remotely after he sealed a switch to Germany in the summer of 2020 and says the way he would complete his studies, then go and perform at an elite level "was absolutely fantastic".

"His commitment to education got put to the test when he moved out to Dortmund in Germany," added Mr Ramsay. "But we work with elite students all over the world and made sure our timetable could work around him.

"He wanted to continue his studies when he moved there, worked hard and received some really good grades."

And now he believes, Bellingham, who turns 20 in June next year, could break Bobby Moore's record to be the youngest ever captain of the national team.

Mr Ramsay said: "I still speak to Jude and send him a well done message and you'll get a reply straight away - he'll never forget where he comes from.

"He knows his roots and knows how important they've been in getting to where he is now.

"He's captained Dortmund in the Champions League and I still don't think we've seen the best of him. I think we are watching the future England captain and he could break the record for the youngest captain too - it's very possible he could do that.

"Jude will play a big part in getting through the [France] game and I'm confident that he and the rest of the team can do it."

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