'Spanish Jude Bellingham' tipped for Real Madrid transfer

Cameron Smith

Updated: 24 Oct 2023 18:28 BST
4 min read

Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid, 2023/24 — © ProShots

Al-Ahli midfielder Gabri Veiga has been compared to Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham by former Celta Vigo boss Carlos Carvalhal.

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Veiga, 21, left Celta Vigo to move to the lucrative Saudi Pro League for €35 million this summer, despite transfer interest from Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli.

However, despite his recent move to Saudi Arabia, Carvalhal believes that Veiga is the closest thing Spain has to Bellingham and thinks he has the potential to join Real Madrid, Barcelona or Manchester City in the future.

Bellingham has begun life at Real Madrid in unbelievable fashion and the England international has scored 10 goals and provided three assists in just 11 games since his summer move from Borussia Dortmund.

On the other hand, Veiga has been heavily criticised for moving to Saudi Arabia after his breakout year with Celta Vigo.

However, Carvalhal believes he has the potential to return to Europe and sign for one of the continent’s biggest clubs.

© ProShots - Gabri Veiga left Celta Vigo this summer

What has been said?

“Bellingham is a fantastic player, he surprises me every hour,” Carvalhal told Marca.

“In my last analysis for ‘LaLigaTV’ I classified him as ‘the warrior’. It is not easy to find a player who is differential in scoring goals and giving assists and, at the same time, has so much aggression.

“I’m not going to say that he is supernatural because he is human, but he is one of those players that does not appear very easily. He mixes the English spirit with the technical ability of the Spanish player.”

“Gabri Veiga is the Spanish player who, in my opinion, is closest to Bellingham. He has many things about Bellingham: interpretation of the game, movement from back to front, he is very strong attacking the area. Bellingham has more technical ability, but Gabri has great potential.”

Jude Bellingham can’t be stopped 😱pic.twitter.com/HQcZr9jn8x
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) October 3, 2023

Carvalhal then explained his role in Veiga’s immense form that saw him notch 11 La Liga goals last season.

He said: “He started the season in the reserve team as a striker [and we] very correctly promoted him to the first team and placed him as a playmaker, but we challenged him.

“I told him: ‘As a forward you are going to be a normal player, as an offensive midfielder there may be other ‘Gabri Veigas’, but as an offensive pivot, if you manage to put into practice what we want, you can be an outlier, a player that there aren’t any of. Now it’s in your hands.’

“He did phenomenal. If he has continuity in that position for two to three years, which is not easy to place him there, he is a player who can go to a very high level, from Real Madrid, Barcelona, [Man] City.”