Jude Bellingham's Role in Mourinho's Tactics at Real Madrid

Steve McManaman can see the comparisons. Jude Bellingham gliding into the box late, timing his runs, finishing like a seasoned No.10. It all screams Frank Lampard under José Mourinho. But for the former Real Madrid midfielder, the question is simple: will Mourinho actually build that version of Bellingham again?

Speaking to GOAL on behalf of Disney+ – who will broadcast Mourinho’s first La Liga game back in charge on ESPN this Saturday as Real visit Espanyol – McManaman pointed to the Englishman’s shifting role over the past few seasons.

“He did that in his first year, didn’t he,” McManaman said, referencing Bellingham’s more advanced, goal-hunting position. “But time will tell because the year before last he dropped a little bit deeper, and last year he struggled for goals.”

The arrival of Kylian Mbappé changed everything. Bellingham’s freedom, his zones, even his responsibility in the final third. McManaman sees that clearly.

“I think with the introduction of Kylian, his role changed, but whether Jose will want to play that role this year, we'll have to wait and see. It seems that he wants to play Kylian, Vini Junior and Yan Diomande, and that's going to be the big point in the end, whether the space is there for Jude to make that front four.”

That’s the tactical puzzle at the heart of Mourinho’s return. Four attackers, one ball, limited real estate between the lines. In Spain, though, McManaman believes there will be nights when Real can simply overwhelm teams with sheer talent.

“I think in La Liga, in certain games he'll get away with it, that front four, and he'll be driving forward and he'll certainly score goals Jude because that's what he wants to do and he loves to attack those avenues arriving late, so let's hope that happens. But we'll all have to wait and see.”

The real headache, as McManaman sees it, lies in balancing Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior.

“I think the biggest conundrum is getting the best out of Kylian and out of Vini Junior and seeing where they both want to play because as we know, and you only have to see the World Cup, both of them like to drift out to the left and both like to stand left,” he explained.

They want the same space. The same angles. The same starting point to attack.

“So it'll be interesting whose job it is to stay in the centre of the box and stay in the centre of the park because both like to come towards the ball. They're both not number nines.”

Real have tried to address that profile. McManaman name-checked the options.

“I know they bought a young lad, Carlos Espi, who scored a couple of goals in pre-season already, he is a number nine and Gonzalo Garcia who's now at Fulham was a number nine.”

But Mbappé and Vinícius? They are finishers, not classic penalty-box predators.

“Vini Junior and Kylian are not, for all the goals they've scored, they're not orthodox fox in the box-type stuff,” McManaman said. “So maybe it will be up to Jude to make that push into the box but I'm waiting to see what Jose does and what Jose changes and how Jose's going to help them operate.”

One detail fascinates him in particular: what happens when the ball is whipped into the area.

“Because if you've got Yan Diomande crossing the ball into the box, who's going to be there to head them in because you know Kylian and Vini are not prolific in the air? I'm really interested in that side of what Real Madrid are going to do.”

Lampard once thrived as the late-arriving solution in Mourinho’s Chelsea. Bellingham has the instincts to do the same. The question hanging over Mourinho’s second act in Madrid is whether he dares to hand him that role again in a front four bursting with stars.