For many – especially after what he produced in his first season with Real Madrid, 23 goals and 13 assists – Jude Bellingham is the complete midfielder. For others, he is so good he defies labels, half midfielder, half forward. And for Xabi Alonso, he is both a blessing and a headache.
Since his arrival, the manager from Tolosa has spent no shortage of time wrestling with where to place the former Borussia player. He opened the year saying he saw him more “as a midfielder,” yet has ended up pushing him closer to goal, slotting him in just behind Mbappé.
After undergoing shoulder surgery, this has been an unusual season for the England international. Cutting his recovery time considerably, he received his first call-up for the fifth game of the year – the opening Champions League outing against Marseille on September 16 at 3 p.m. ET.But he didn’t play. He logged only a handful of minutes (one and 19, respectively) against Espanyol and Levante before unexpectedly starting at the Metropolitano. That heavy 5–2 loss thrust him straight into the debate. Xabi may have brought him into the starting lineup too soon.
Since then, Bellingham has featured in every game. And in all of them as a starter except two – against Kairat and most recently Olympiacos. That last one came with a hint of mystery, because it was surprising to see Jude get a runout late in the second half after earlier reports said he would begin on the bench due to a soleus issue. It carried a degree of unnecessary risk, given Mbappé had just scored the fourth and the game was sitting at 4–2.
Xabi eventually shifted the setup into a 4-2-3-1 to push Bellingham nearer to goal and reduce the distance he had to cover when he operated in midfield, stuck wider on the left. The Englishman, as usual, didn’t disappoint in front of goal. He scored four times in his last seven starts, including the one that rescued a draw against Elche, the winner against Juventus and the opener in the Clásico. But now, the tactical turn Xabi introduced against Olympiacos – a 4-3-1-2 with a three-man midfield – forces a fresh rethink.
Bellingham behind the forwards
On paper, the shift doesn’t undermine Bellingham, who can still play as the attacking midfielder, now behind two forwards, with Vinícius joining Mbappé. But that could leave Güler out unless Xabi opts to drop the Turkish playmaker into the three-man midfield alongside Tchouameni and Valverde.
In that case, Camavinga would be the one to lose his place. The million-dollar question – where is Bellingham going to play? – seems, on the surface, long settled. The No. 10 role is his. He plays more centrally (and with fewer defensive obligations) than he did under Ancelotti. But Xabi’s latest tactical twist demands another reshuffle, including his.
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