He remained an integral part of the team once the season resumed behind closed doors, and set up a late equaliser for Lukas Jutkiewicz against Charlton Athletic that made Birmingham's league position less precarious with two matches still to play. Bellingham continued as a first-team regular, and by the time the season was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he had made 32 league appearances. He was linked with moves to numerous major clubs in January 2020 on deadline day, Birmingham were reported to have turned down a £20 million bid from Manchester United. According to head coach Pep Clotet, Bellingham himself "feels more comfortable in midfield, and more comfortable when he can get closer to the opposition box." He was EFL Young Player of the Month for November 2019. He was eased into the team on the left wing, moved into central midfield "where he could gain more confidence", and then used "in a more advanced role" once the staff were sure he could cope with the responsibility. īellingham continued as a permanent fixture in the matchday squad, sometimes as a substitute but mainly in the starting eleven. He started the next match, away to Charlton Athletic two weeks later, and scored the only goal from Kerim Mrabti's cutback. Replacing the injured Jefferson Montero after half an hour, Bellingham scored the winner – albeit via a generous deflection – as Birmingham came back from 1–0 down to beat Stoke 2–1, and thus became their youngest ever goalscorer, aged 16 years and 63 days. He made his first Football League appearance 19 days later, as a second-half substitute in a 3–0 defeat away to Swansea City, and his home debut on 31 August against Stoke City. He played for 80 minutes in the 3–0 defeat, and was the Birmingham Mail 's man of the match. At 16 years, 38 days, he lowered the record set by Trevor Francis in 1970 by 101 days. On 6 August, when he started the EFL Cup first round visit to Portsmouth, Bellingham became Birmingham City's youngest ever first-team player. He was part of the first-team training camp in Portugal, played and scored in pre-season friendlies, and was given squad number 22 for the 2019–20 season. īellingham took up a two-year scholarship with Birmingham City to begin in July 2019.
He was gradually introduced to the first-team environment while still a schoolboy: increasingly training with the seniors, he accompanied them on matchday to observe, and travelled as the "19th man" for a Championship match in March. Entering the game after an hour, he scored the only goal in the 87th minute "sliding in to force the ball over the goal line after pressure by Kyle McFarlane on the keeper diverted the ball into his path." By March 2019, he had three goals from ten development squad appearances, had featured in FourFourTwo 's list of the "50 most exciting teenagers in English football", and was mentioned as of interest to major European clubs. He played for their under-18 team at 14, and made his debut for their under-23 team at the age of 15, on 15 October 2018 away to Nottingham Forest's U23s. Club career Birmingham City īellingham joined Birmingham City as an under-8, after playing for Stourbridge. Bellingham attended Priory School in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Bellingham's younger brother, Jobe, is a Birmingham City player. Mark works as a sergeant in the West Midlands Police and was a prolific goalscorer in non-League football. Bellingham was born in Stourbridge, in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, in 2003, the eldest son of Denise and Mark Bellingham.
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