Jude Bellingham’s star continues to soar. He joined Real Madrid for £88.5 million last summer after dominating the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund for a few seasons.
He’s been a massive hit for the Spanish giants in La Liga, scoring five goals and an assist in four league appearances. Anyone who has seen him play for the Los Blancos will recognise the world-class midfielder he is developing into. Teams in the Premier League would be gazing at him and wishing he was on their squad.
Interestingly, in a talkSPORT Drive Show conversation between Darren Bent and Andy Goldstein, Bent was asked if, for Arsenal, he would swap Martin Odegaard with Bellingham. Surprisingly, the ex-Premier League star stated that he would not exchange the Arsenal captain for the 20-year-old, noting that while the Real Madrid midfielder is excellent, he is not what the Gunners require and the Gunners only need what Odegaard has to offer. If he were to choose someone to swap for Bellingham, it would be Kai Havertz.
Bent said: “Bellingham? I love him. I love him. But the question that was put to me in the pre-show planning meeting was, would I swap Odegaard for him?
“And no, I’m not swapping our captain, one of our influential players. Right at this particular moment, I’d keep Odegaard. Thank you.”
Stunned, Andy Goldstein replied to Bent’s claim: “Hold on, you own Arsenal, phone goes, ‘Hello, it’s Real Madrid here, do you want to swap Bellingham for Odegaard?’ You would say no?”
Bent stuck to his word, replying, “I would say no. I’d keep Odegaard. Our captain, our leader. He’s inspirational.”
He added: “I think Bellingham is probably a better player, but for where Arsenal are at right now, Odegaard being the captain, I’m not swapping him.”
“Yeah, but not in that position,” Bent replied when asked if he would improve the Gunners. “I’d swap Kai Havertz in a heartbeat for him. I’d play [Declan] Rice, Bellingham, and Odegaard.
“There’s your three, but I’m not going to take the captaincy away from Odegaard and say, ‘Off you go. I’m not doing that.”
If you were asked, as Bent was, if Arsenal should swap Jude Bellingham for Odegaard, would you say yes? Is this a transfer move you would support?