Jude Bellingham as smart off the field as on it.
Plus a summer of great interest for Jarrad Branthwaite.
Jude Bellingham is known for getting things right off the pitch as well as on. Here’s another story of how smart and popular he is. When the Real Madrid player was on England duty in March, he not only rescued Gareth Southgate’s team with an injury-time equaliser against Belgium at Wembley, he also made friends during a commercial shoot at St George’s Park. Much of the advertising you’ll see enveloping the Euros was filmed during an hour’s slot at England’s training base in March (it’s why Marcus Rashford, since omitted by Southgate, features in the M&S campaign).
It’s a nervy time for sponsors and their agencies, wanting to maximise that hour, having invested substantial sums for the opportunity. Players arrive in the Futsal hall at St George’s in groups of three and are allotted to one of the England sponsors (Rashford was joined by Conor Gallagher and Aaron Ramsdale for the M&S shoot). In another group, Bellingham impressed agencies and their clients by walking up to them, introducing himself with “hi, I’m Jude”, chatting away and then throwing himself whole-heartedly into whatever that sponsor required for that hour. As befitting the culture of selflessness espoused by Gareth Southgate, most of his players get fully involved. James Maddison and Declan Rice are others, like Bellingham, appreciated by sponsors for their friendliness.