'He reminds me of Zidane' - Neil Lennon likens 'assassin' Jude Bellingham to Real Madrid icon

Neil Lennon had high praise for Jude Bellingham and likened him to the legendary Real Madrid player who used to don the No. 5 shirt - French icon Zinedine Zidane.

Bellingham helped Real Madrid stay perfect in the UEFA Champions League group stages with a late assist in the club’s 3-2 win over Union Berlin on Tuesday, where he set up Dani Ceballos’ 89th-minute winner.

This season, the 20-year-old has seven goal contributions in five Champions League games, with only England team-mates Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka contributing the same numbers.

Bellingham has been just as clinical domestically, where he has 12 goals in 14 La Liga outings, meaning he has a devastating tally of 21 goal contributions in 19 games across all competitions.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League action, live on TNT Sports, former Celtic boss Neil Lennon couldn’t speak highly enough of the midfielder’s talent.

“He has everything. You talk about Zidane, that’s who he reminds me of,” Lennon told TNT Sports. “I saw Zidane in the late 90s at his peak. Now I don’t want to make comparisons, but he’s so like him.

“He’s 6'2", this powerful build, but he’s a beautiful runner with the ball, he’s so graceful. But he’s also an assassin. He’ll cut your throat with his ability with goals and assists.

“He can do everything already on the pitch and to walk into arguably the biggest club in the world and basically say ‘I’m the man’ at 20 years of age. It’s not just about his talent, it’s about his temperament, his personality.

“I saw him live for England against Scotland and thought ‘wow’. He took my breath away, he’s so good.”

Fellow pundit Joleon Lescott also had a lot to say about Bellingham and the impact the youngster has had on the 14-time Champions League winners since his summer move from Borussia Dortmund.

“He’s an exceptional talent,” he claimed. “Mentality is probably his best attribute, his ability to play in every position and understand it but not only that but to showcase his qualities to understand what the position requires.

“Listen, you go to Real Madrid and they give you the shirt of Zidane, due to the qualities of yourself and the importance of him, it shows and it states how important they value [you].

“And I’ve seen quotes from [Dani] Carvajal saying he’s never seen someone have the impact Jude has had, going there so young. It looks like he’s just embraced the responsibility.”

Newcastle v AC Milan will be live on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate with coverage from 19:00 UK time on Wednesday, December 13.

You can subscribe to TNT Sports through discovery+, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.

To find out where your local establishments showing TNT Sports are, use our Pub Finder tool.

- - -

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media