Jude Bellingham quickly justifying 'Signing of the Summer' tag at Real Madrid

With weeks still left in the transfer window, much of the Madrid-based media have decided already who is “Buy of the Year.” In a summer in which expectations have risen, fallen and still remain in suspense around the possible arrival of Kylian Mbappe at Real Madrid, there is absolute conviction that, come what may, the greatest marketplace coup must be the club’s purchase of Jude Bellingham.

“The Signing of the Summer,” the newspaper Marca, Spain’s top-selling daily, labels the Englishman, echoing its rival AS and clarifying: “That’s not only in Spain, but worldwide.” This in the window where Lionel Messi moved and soared immediately at Inter Miami, and where Bellingham’s compatriot, Harry Kane, joined Bayern Munich and scored on his first start for the German champions.

The impact of Bellingham eclipses theirs partly because, at just-turned 20 years old, he is a decade Kane’s junior and fully 17 years younger than Messi, who has moved, by joining an MLS club, to a less competitive league environment than the European elite divisions he commanded for so long.

It cost Madrid over €100 million to prise Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund but, from day one of his pre-season, it was clear they anticipated a sharp upward trajectory and felt ready to design a game plan around his wide portfolio of skills.

Two Liga matches into his career, Bellingham has three goals and an assist, impressive numbers for a newcomer, even more so for a midfield player, usually – and accurately – described as a “box-to-box” footballer.

At Madrid, he is asked by manager Carlo Ancelotti to steer much of his energy towards the opposition penalty box. In his last year at Dortmund, when the German club were adjusting to life after Erling Haaland,