Jude Bellingham has taken to Spanish football like a duck to water this season, and has put an immediate marker down to indicate that the future is very much now for Real Madrid.
The midfielder has been head and shoulders above his peers and opponents so far, with an astonishing eight goals and two assists from eight La Liga matches.
Bellingham also boasts two goals and one assist from two matches in the Champions League for his new club, as Madrid toast having the cream of European football talent at their disposal.
Bellingham, however, is soon to be joined by another rapidly emerging name in the sport.
Real quitely went about their business in December 2022, when hands were shaken with Brazilian outfit Palmeiras regarding a deal to take teenage star Endrick to the Spanish capital.
The 17-year-old is the hottest prospect to emerge from Brazil since Neymar, and is tipped to soon surpass the likes of fellow starlets from his home nation, Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr.
Both Brazilian youngsters already play for Real, and will be joined by Endrick in 2024 when he turns 18.
In Brazil the powerful forward Endrick has been described as a “genetic freak” by pundits, and already has an endless highlights reel of defenders falling in his wake on a weekly basis.
Recent match footage from Brazil went viral this week, as Endrick glided effortlessly past a fully stocked defence before unleashing a bullet of a shot which was denied only by the crossbar.
Naturally, the youngster has already had his fair share of comparisons with the greatest Brazilian footballer of all time – Pele.
Neymar suffered the same fate during his meteoric rise and eventual move to Barcelona, though the comparisons with Endrick are all the more intense given the position the player takes up on the pitch.
The Pele likenesses, Endrick has admitted, are already becoming a heavy and unwanted burden to carry.
Speaking to Brazilian GQ in April, Endrick said: “Sometimes I ask myself: Why are there so many stories about me?”
“I didn’t ask for this. There are situations that cross a line. ‘Ah, he’s the new Pele.’ Man, nobody is going to be Pele, he’s the king of football.”
The teenage star was subject to heavy Premier League interest, before eventually making it clear his only preference was Real.
Both Liverpool and Chelsea are said to have held talks with the representatives of the youngster, along with his family.
Palmeiras club Leila Pereira has described the transfer as “the biggest negotiation in the history of Brazilian football”, such is the attention around the move.
She added: “Real Madrid’s proposal is compatible with Endrick’s enormous talent and corresponds to the sporting and financial goals that we have established since the beginning of negotiations.”
Should Endrick deliver on his vast potential and pair as sweetly as expected with Bellingham, a new wave of Real Madrid domination is just around the corner.
