Is it his time to shine? Jude Bellingham is the top-valued player at the Qatar World Cup. 

England’s Jude Bellingham will be the most valuable player in Qatar with a £176.9m price tag – nearly £50m more than Borussia Dortmund would reportedly demand for the 19-year-old.

Time to shine for Bellingham?

Sky Sports’ Nick Wright:

Could this be Jude Bellingham’s time? The midfielder became the youngest player to feature for England at a major tournament when he came off the bench in the 1-0 win over Croatia at Euro 2020 aged 17 years and 349 days old, going on to play a total of 56 minutes on their run to the final.

This time, he will hope to figure much more prominently.

Bellingham has accrued invaluable experience over the course of the last year, both internationally, winning 17 caps in total, and at club level, where his importance to Borussia Dortmund has continued to grow.

Bellingham started all but two of Dortmund’s 34 Bundesliga games last season and he is yet to miss a minute in the new campaign, his performances attracting interest from Liverpool and prompting Dortmund to place an eye-watering £130m price-tag on his head.

Gareth Southgate might just find it impossible to overlook him in Qatar. Declan Rice is of course a guaranteed starter, while Kalvin Phillips is deemed similarly important in his midfield.

But Phillips will not be coming into the tournament anywhere near as well prepared as Bellingham due to his recent injury problems and lack of playing time for Manchester City, and that could demand a rethink.

Recent evidence suggests Bellingham will be ready to seize his chance. He is still a teenager having only turned 19 in June but his burgeoning talent, and his combination of physical and technical prowess, could make him crucial for England this winter.

Will Jude Bellingham start for England?

Reports suggest teenager Jude Bellingham could be in the starting line-up for England’s opening World Cup game against Iran. 

The teen has been in superb form for Borussia Dortmund, and former Premier League legend Steven Gerrard believes Bellingham is en course to become the next ‘superstar’ player. 

‘I think for the viewers watching this World Cup, there’s a massive opportunity to enjoy a massive pool of players from different countries,’ the Liverpool legend and former Aston Villa manager told Sky Sports.

‘I’ve competed against a lot of these players, your Messi’s and Ronaldo’s of this world. They’ll be the two big names with a lot of focus, but the tournament’s going to be littered with high class players.

‘I’ll be focusing my attention on England, I’m really excited to watch Jude Bellingham, I’m a massive fan of him. I think the next 10 or 15 years, he’s going to become an England superstar.

‘There’s a lot of Premier League players out at the World Cup and they’ll be hoping they’re on the right side of a successful tournament.’