What Jude Bellingham has told emerging Birmingham City wonderkid who is a viral sensation online | OneFootball

The Real Madrid and England ace is an inspirational figure at St. Andrew's

Former Birmingham City ace and current Real Madrid plus England international, Jude Bellingham, has issued some advice for Lorenzo Greer, a viral internet sensation currently coming through the club's academy setup.

At 16 years of age, Greer, who has risen to prominence in the world of social media through his 'Tekkerz Kid' YouTube channel, is looking to emulate the success achieved by Bellingham, who departed St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park just over five years ago after a solitary campaign in Blues' first-team under the management of Pep Clotet.

Like any other club in the Championship, League One or League Two, it gives those inside the inner-workings of the club, as well as supporters, a great feeling of pride when 'one of their own' eventually bursts onto the first-team scene, which is exactly what the Galacticos' star did after becoming Birmingham's youngest-ever player in an EFL Cup tie against Portsmouth at Fratton Park back in August 2019.

At present, there are lofty plans in place for Blues to become an eventual force in the Premier League whilst being bankrolled by the millions of Tom Wagner, whose investment firm, Knighthead Capital Management, completed a full takeover of the club just two weeks ago.

With a new 62,000-capacity stadium on the horizon as part of the 'Sports Quarter' development, all relevant training bases will be under the same postcode, with the likes of Greer currently developing at Wast Hills, the club's current academy and women's team base in Kings Norton, whilst Chris Davies' squad train at the Elite Performance and Innovation Centre in Henley-in-Arden.

In the coming years, the youngster, who is famed for his skillset and trickery on the internet, could be plying his trade in the first-team alongside other prospects such as Alfie Smith, whose signature has been courted by the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool.

As such, advice offered from one of football's global stars, who took a similar path, could go a long way to making such dreams a clear reality for Greer.

In a recent interview with the Sun, Greer spoke about his internet fame, which has seen him amass 1.7 million YouTube subscribers over a 10-year period, as well as his encounters with Bellingham, who played 44 times and scored four times in the Championship at the Blues' prospect's current age, before moving to Borussia Dortmund for £25m in July 2020.

Since then, he has become a €103m buy for Real Madrid, winning the UEFA Champions League and La Liga in 2023/24, as well as scoring six times in 46 appearances for the Three Lions.

He, his younger brother, Jobe, Jordan James and the recently returned Demarai Gray are a cluster of inspirations for those at Wast Hills to look up to.

“Jude is an inspiration as someone from Birmingham and living proof it’s possible to make it," Greer stated.

“I’ve met him a few times — at St George’s Park, in the city or even at the training ground when he was here.

“Jude is down to earth, humble and speaks to you like a normal person," he added.

“It was mad to see him playing for Birmingham at 16, starting games and scoring goals. It was sick.

“Players like Bellingham, Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen, who hit such a high level in their teens, are almost like one in a billion," Greer explained.

“You cannot compare yourself to people like that because they don’t come along at that age very often.

“Jude told me, ‘Keep playing your game and stay humble.’ So I’ve got to do that, keep working hard and let my football do the talking. My end goal is to be a pro footballer.”

Lorenzo Greer will hope to realise his dreams with ambitious Birmingham City

Ambition and dreams are two buzzwords tightly associated with Birmingham at present, with the aforementioned Sports Quarter set to massively shape the future of sport in the Second City at a cost of £2-3bn.

This gives all associated with the club a chance to work in world-class facilities, with the first-team squad already receiving assistance from those close to NFL icon and minority stakeholder, Tom Brady.

As such, Greer will hope to make his way into the first-team fold in the years to come and potentially become a mainstay, whilst those off the pitch hope to finally make the club a force in the top division, although the initial aim is to back up a record-breaking League One campaign with a first top-flight stint since May 2011.