England soccer star Jude Bellingham has a “hunger” and “rage” that can come across as “a bit repulsive,” manager Thomas Tuchel said in a new interview with British outlet TalkSport.
Bellingham, a key player for his national team and Real Madrid, has rarely been afraid to hide his emotions on the pitch. That much was evident in England’s 3-1 loss against Senegal on Tuesday as he remonstrated with a fourth official and kicked a cooler box in frustration.
But Tuchel, who suffered his first loss as Three Lions boss with the defeat against Senegal, said that the midfielder “brings an edge which we welcome” – even if some fans see it differently.
“He has the fire and I don’t want to dim this down,” Tuchel told the British outlet. “He should play with this kind of fire. That’s his strength. But the fire comes also with some attributes that can intimidate you, maybe even as a teammate.
“You see sometimes the explosion towards referees and the anger in his game. So if he can channel this in the right way and we can help him in this, then for sure he has the something that we need, and he has a certain edge that is hard to find.”
Tuchel added: “I see this with my parents, with my mom, that she sometimes cannot see the nice and well-educated and well-behaved guy that I see.
“If he smiles, he wins everyone. But sometimes you see the rage, you see the hunger and the rage and the fire and it comes out in a way that can be a bit repulsive – for example, for my mother, when she sits in front of the TV. I see that. But in general, we are very happy to have him. He’s a special boy.”
Still only 21, Bellingham has already made 44 appearances for England, scoring six goals and playing a crucial role in the team’s run to the final of last year’s European Championships.
He won La Liga, Champions League and Spanish Super Cup titles in his first season in Spain with Los Blancos but was more subdued in the last campaign, scoring 14 goals compared to 23 the previous year.
Tuchel admitted that he has been undecided about where to play Bellingham in his England team, particularly after seeing his goalscoring form for Real Madrid.
“I see (in him) what I normally see only in strikers,” said Tuchel. “I think now, at the moment, he’s more an eight or 10 than a six or eight. Maybe a 10.”
Though only a friendly, England’s defeat against Senegal was the team’s first ever loss against an African nation.
It followed a lackluster 1-0 victory against Andorra on Saturday, but the Three Lions remain top of their World Cup qualifying group with three wins from three.
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