Jude Bellingham: "Jadon Sancho has been very helpful for me at Borussia Dortmund"
Borussia Dortmund's latest English teenage star, Jude Bellingham, has already settled in nicely under the wing of his fellow countryman and the man who's footsteps he is following in, Jadon Sancho.
BVB's summer recruit from Birmingham City has been leaning on his compatriot during his first few days in his new surroundings, and in a Q&A session on the Westphalian club's Twitter account, he said how excited he is about the prospect of lining up alongside Sancho at Signal Iduna Park.
"Jadon's been very helpful for me, not only is he great to play with but he always makes sure I understand what information the coaches are giving to us," Bellingham said. "I'm very excited because for the first few days we only had testing so it was so nice to finally get out there with them!"
Bellingham has joined his new teammates in a pre-season training camp in Bad Ragaz. Up until now, medical protocol meant the whole squad had been undergoing tests and training individually and while he had shared a game or two of table tennis with fellow newbie Thomas Meunier, it was only on Monday that the whole squad were put through their paces together.
For the 17-year-old Englishman, it was an eye-opening occasion, measuring himself up to some of the world's most talented players.
"Who was the toughest opponent? Axel Witsel!" Bellingham said. "He's so strong but also so composed with the ball."
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He could be seeing a lot more of the Belgian in the coming season from close quarters, with Bellingham revealing his favourite positions are defensive midfielder, central midfielder or attacking midfielder. "Like anywhere in central midfield," he added. Precisely where Witsel operates.
There is no better place than in the Signal Iduna Park, though, and Bellingham is looking forward to seeing the famous Südkurve in all its glory. "Of course, it's the best stand in Europe," he said. "I can't wait to play there!"
Dortmund start their season at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach and that game – pencilled in for the weekend of September 18-21 – is bound to come around in the blink of an eye.
Speaking of speed, how does Bellingham think he would fare in a race with Erling Haaland?
"I don't know because I've never raced against a machine before, so it would be a hard one, I guess," said Bellingham.
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