‘A lot is untrue’ – Henderson hits back at Bellingham criticism
· Yahoo Sports
England midfielder Jordan Henderson has hit back at media criticism of teammate Jude Bellingham, labelling it as ‘untrue’.
Visit syntagm.co.za for more information.
Despite being aged just 22 and having already excelled for both England and Real Madrid numerous times, Bellingham has faced criticism for his attitude on more than one occasion. Thomas Tuchel has been amongst those that have questioned the midfielder publicly, although the England boss did later apologise.
“I honestly couldn’t speak highly enough of him,” insisted fellow England midfielder Henderson. “I know a lot gets written in the media and I really find it hard to read sometimes.
“Because I just know how big an influence he is on this team. How good a teammate he is off the field.
“So he’s a huge, huge player for us in this tournament. I think if you ask any player in the group, they’ll tell you how much of a good teammate he is, how well he trains.
“I know he’s young, but he’s very mature, I would say, in his head,” continued the 35-year-old. “He helps young players, new players that are coming in.
“How he was in the pre-camp, how he was with Rio, Josh King, Alex Scott, how he is with them players. Nobody sees that, but they all look up to him.
“He gave Rio his first captain after the game, which just gives you a little insight into what he is like behind the scenes.
“So I do think a lot of the media and the stuff that gets written isn’t all true, to be honest. A lot of it is actually untrue.
“But for us, we all know what he can do and how much we all love him inside the camp. I suppose that’s the main thing.”
Bellingham’s position in the team had been under threat coming into the World Cup, although he did make the squad. Despite that, after impressing in England’s warm-up matches, he is expected to start their opener against Croatia.
His experienced teammate explained: “What he gives us is just something really special, really. I think he really gives us the X Factor in our team.
“He’s had big moments in his career, he’s a big game player, he’s got experience in tournaments. I’m sure he will have a big impact for us in this tournament.
“What he’s done so far at such a young age, I think everybody forgets how young he is, even me.”