WAYNE ROONEY has heaped praise on Jude Bellingham and insisted that the young star MUST be included in the England setup.
Bellingham found himself snubbed from Thomas Tuchel‘s England squad earlier this month as he recovered from a shoulder operation in the summer.
England‘s solid performances without their talisman drove conversation about whether the Real Madrid star should be guaranteed a spot in the lineup or not.
But Rooney, who currently stands as England’s second-highest scorer of all time, rubbished the debate, saying Bellingham must be included for his match-winning qualities.
He said on BBC’s The Wayne Rooney Show: “I’ve heard the debate, should he be in the England squad come the World Cup? He has to be.”
“I don’t think there’s any doubt. Harry Kane‘s the one they all rely on, but when you need something he’s the one, who can go and do that as well.
“You need players who do have that attitude, and I don’t mean attitude in a bad way, but that attitude to walk on a pitch and look at the opponent and say, ‘do you know what, I’m better than you’.”
If the pressure was on for Bellingham to stake his claim to a spot in the national team then there are few better opportunities than the biggest game in club football – El Clasico.
The 22-year-old stole the show against Barcelona, and made the crucial contributions to push his side on to their first win in their last 5 fixtures against their fierce rivals.
He threaded a beautiful through ball behind the back line to set up Kylian Mbappe for their opener, before ghosting in unmarked at the back post to tap home and put the game to bed before the stroke of half-time.
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Rooney continued: “We saw it in the Euros and again now with Madrid.
“He’s had big moments and in the biggest game arguably out there, El Clasico, he has an impact. He gets the assist, the goal.
“That’s a mindset when you get left out – do you sit there and sulk, or do you go and react? Try and prove people wrong, and he’s gone and done that.”
