"I faced Jude Bellingham on his debut at 16, he was exceptional"-Gareth Evans

 FORMER Portsmouth player GARETH EVANS had the perfect view of Jude Bellingham’s pro debut as a 16-year-old kid for Birmingham.

Here, Evans, now 36, exclusively tells SunSport what he witnessed on that August day in 2019...I had never known there to be such a fuss about a player who had not played a minute of professional football before.

We were preparing for a Carabao Cup first-round game and there was a deafening buzz surrounding some 16-year-old lad that was making his first appearance for Birmingham City that night.

“He’s quick, agile, has lightning-fast feet and he can pick a pass”, I remember was the memo in our team talk from boss Kenny Jackett.

I thought it was all a bit over the top but given that I was on the bench I had the perfect view of what this kid was all about.After five minutes I’d seen enough.His name? Jude Bellingham.You could just tell that he was going to be exceptional, albeit nobody could have predicted what he would go on to achieve.I remember being amazed at his ability to turn with the ball and cruise past players like they weren’t there.This was a lad that hadn’t played a minute of pro football before and in a few instances, he made established EFL players look like the teenagers.

He was on the receiving end of a 3-0 defeat that night at Portsmouth but all our lads talked about after the game was the No 22 in midfield.

Nobody could quite believe how young he was, his confidence on the ball was that of a player in his prime.

Everybody was raving about him and rightly so. Ben Close played against Bellingham in midfield that night and scored a 25-yard volley that the Jude of today would be very proud of.

Close recalled: “We’d heard that he was highly-rated but I was happy to be playing against a 16-year-old. I thought he would be nervous as the game was on TV as well.”

Midfielder Close, now 27, was impressed with his ability to carry the ball as well — but it was his attitude that shone through most of all.He added: “I didn’t expect him to be so quick and sharp.

“It was his belief and confidence though that stood out for me. He showed no signs of nerves or fear which is very rare.”His shirt number was retired by Birmingham at the end of that debut season as Borussia Dortmund paid £30m for him.That’s how good he is. Nothing seems to faze him.

Could he cut it in the Bundesliga at the age of just 17? No problem.

He was a mainstay in midfield for three years and was voted Bundesliga player of the year.

His performances were nothing short of astounding and that led to Real Madrid paying £85.5m for him last summer, rising to a possible £115m.

Questions were asked on whether he could cut it at the Spanish giants as the pressure mounted.

But he has just won LaLiga by TEN POINTS in his first season and after scoring 19 times was yesterday voted player of the season in the Spanish top-flight.

He is also playing the Champions League final on Saturday against his old team Dortmund. Just remarkable. His maturity on the pitch is there for all to see.His trademark celebration has been copied by his peers and kids alike all around the world.

To go to Real Madrid and have Zinedine Zidane’s famous No 5 on his back takes a huge amount of confidence and courage.

But it is not just his character on the pitch that has impressed the football world so much but his personality off it as well.

He comes across so level-headed and down-to-earth. It’s hard to imagine the pressure that he is under playing for the biggest club in the world and on the biggest stage but no one would ever know.

Rio Ferdinand recently interviewed Jude and said that he’s the kind of lad that you want your daughter to bring home. Compliment indeed.

I played against Dele Alli when he broke through at MK Dons and I remember thinking that he would go on to big things which he did for a time.But Bellingham is something else.

He has gone on to take over the world of football and I feel privileged to have witnessed Jude play his first game of professional football.

I’m disappointed now that I didn’t get on to share the pitch with him that night at Fratton Park.

But the flair, the charisma and the confidence will be there for everyone to see at Wembley.

Don’t be surprised if you see his celebration as well.