9 months ago
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At just 20 years of age, Jude Bellingham is already one of the best players in the game.
The England star leads the goalscoring charts in LaLiga with 13 goals and has just won the Spanish Super Cup - and at this stage of his career, there is more to come.
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Football clubs will have witnessed his flying start to the campaign and consider whether they could follow suit with others across Europe.
Given his age, it's mind boggling to suggest that teams may already be looking to sign the Next Jude Bellingham.
But WhoScored.com have picked out four players who are the same age or younger who could go on to have the same impact in the coming years.
Jobe Bellingham - Sunderland
Jude's younger brother, Jobe Bellingham hasn't made quite the impact as his sibling this season at Sunderland, but the 18-year-old is still proving key for the Black Cats in their pursuit of promotion.
READ MORE ON JUDE BELLINGHAM
Only Jack Clarke (12) has scored more goals than Bellingham (4) for Sunderland in the Championship this season. His performances at the Stadium of Light haven't gone unnoticed either.
Sunderland's rivals Newcastle were monitoring Bellingham's progress prior to his move to the former last summer while Real Madrid are also reported to be weighing up the possibility of reuniting the brothers at the Bernabeu.
Both Jobe and Jude share similarities in their style of play so if Los Blancos are already looking to secure the next Jude Bellingham, they could do a lot worse than make a move for his brother.
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Florian Wirtz - Bayer Leverkusen
Florian Wirtz isn't an unknown on the European circuit and the German's performances for Bayer Leverkusen have certainly propelled him back into the spotlight.
Emmanuel Petit insists Jude Bellingham is ahead of Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane, and is the best player in world football right now
Wirtz missed a significant chunk of 2022 due to a cruciate ligament tear but he is making up for lost time for Xabi Alonso's side.
The 20-year-old has scored five times this season, while only Leroy Sane (8) has provided more assists than the youngster (7) in the Bundesliga.
Not only have the duo proven effective attacking outlets for their respective sides this season but they work hard off the ball to force turnovers in a dangerous area of the pitch.
Bellingham leads the way for possession won in the attacking third (22) in La Liga this season, a metric Wirtz tops (21) in the Bundesliga.
The latter may be more of a creator than the former, yet at his age, there's reason to believe Wirtz can improve his goal output to match Bellingham's exploits in the final third.
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Xavi Simons - RB Leipzig
Having excelled for PSV last season, PSG exercised their buy-back clause to re-sign Xavi Simons for just €6m.
It could prove one of their best decisions. PSG sent Simons on loan to Bundesliga side RB Leipzig for the season, and he has excelled for the German side.
Like Wirtz, the Dutchman also has seven assists to his name in the 2023/24 Bundesliga campaign.
The Netherlands international may not work as effectively off the ball as Bellingham and Wirtz but he is one of the most exciting attacking prospects on the continent.
In addition to the latter's creative qualities, Simons is also able to operate on the flanks, with this versatile aspect to his game found wanting for Bellingham.
While he does have just four league goals to his name this term, the desire to get on the ball and hurt an opponent is similar to that of the Real Madrid man.
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Arthur Vermeeren - Royal Antwerp
While not a household name in the same vein as Wirtz and Simons, Arthur Wermeeren is one to keep an eye on.
The promising Belgian has been attracting interest from the Premier League and for good reason too.
The 18-year-old has a bright future in the game and it is only a matter of time before he secures that headline grabbing move.
Of course he does operate in a deeper role to Bellingham but the England star so often operated at the base of the midfield for Borussia Dortmund prior to his summer switch to Real Madrid.
Vermeeren would have to tinker his game accordingly to start putting up similar numbers to Bellingham but the teenager isn't adverse to putting pressure on opposition defences having won possession in the attacking third 18 times this season, that ranking 11th in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League.
Given the infancy of his career, there is ample time for development to become a greater all-rounder.
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