Reported Liverpool transfer target Jude Bellingham has been told that he’s a better passer than Phil Foden, by the man himself.
In a video on the England YouTube channel, Bellingham and Foden take a look at their FIFA ratings throughout the years. Comparing their stats against each other, the Manchester City forward admitted there were some debatable decisions.
The passing and the shot should be the other way around,” Foden said to Bellingham. “You should have better passing and I should have a better shot. It makes sense, he’s a midfielder, I’m a striker.
“His passing should be in the 80’s. His passing should definitely be in the 80’s.”
How Bellingham stacks up against Liverpool’s best
There are many reasons why Liverpool are reportedly desperate to sign Bellingham next summer. His passing is definitely one of them.
As per Who Scored, Bellingham is averaging 47.4 passes per game in the Bundesliga this season. That jumps to 56.5 in the Champions League.
In both competitions, the 19-year-old is averaging around an 83% success rate. Of his passes, between 2.5 and 3.4 tend to be long balls each match.
Compare that to Liverpool’s current king of midfield passing – Thiago Alcantara – and Bellingham stacks up well.
It’s a smaller sample sized given Thiago’s injury issues this season. But of the four games he’s played in the Premier League and Champions League so far, he has an average of around 87% success from 55 passes per games.
Room for improvement for Bellingham, but that’s compared to one of the game’s great passers. Should he come to Anfield and learn from Thiago, he could show himself to be equally as effective as the Spaniard.
There are other areas of the £49k-a-week star’s game which appeal to Liverpool. They reportedly see him as being a perfect ‘box-to-box’ player for them.
But as someone who could potentially replace Thiago moving forward, he needs to be a good passer, too. As Foden can attest to, he certainly is.
