Cesc Fabregas and Rio Ferdinand explain why Jude Bellingham is 'above' Phil Foden for England

Cesc Fabregas and Rio Ferdinand believe Jude Bellingham’s personality is making him the driving force in England’s team – making Phil Foden take a backseat.

Real Madrid superstar Bellingham stole the show against Serbia on Sunday night, scoring the only goal of the game as England started their European Championships campaign with a victory. Bellingham ghosted into the six-yard box to head home Bukayo Saka’s right wing cross and looked a cut above the rest in Gelsenkirchen.

At 20, the former Birmingham City starlet is the youngest player in Gareth Southgate’s starting XI, but he is already the Three Lions' leading light. Bellingham’s brilliance in the number 10 role has seen Foden shunted out wide and the Manchester City ace, who was crowned PFA Player of the Year for his excellent showings this season, struggled to make a telling contribution against Serbia.

Former City and England defender Micah Richards was left frustrated by Foden’s position in the aftermath but fellow pundits Fabregas and Ferdinand analysed the situation differently.

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Fabregas said: “I get your point totally, but a player of this class, of this level, of this talent, sometimes doesn’t even need to be told by the coach. He needs to want it more than the rest and for me, today, it showed that Jude is a little bit above him in this regard. He needs to get this personality back and do what he does in Manchester City.”

Ferdinand added: “Jude has come into this team and his body language has said to everybody, ‘Give me the ball or I will go nuts’. That’s his attitude and I think Phil’s seen that and his personality isn’t that and he’s allowing somebody else to come in and be the dominant figure in this team.

“Phil should be saying, ‘No, give me the ball’, and the positions he takes up should be aggressive and they will determine whether you get the ball or not. It’s not about being a quiet guy, Scholesey (Paul Scholes) was the quietest guy I played with off the pitch but on the pitch his persona and the positions he took up meant you had to give him the ball.”