This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...
It's safe to say that Jude Bellingham has certainly gone on to bigger and better things since leaving Birmingham City in favour of a move to Borussia Dortmund.
The young midfielder made 44 appearances for Birmingham City's first-team, and it was clear that his strong performances didn't go unnoticed.
Bellingham signed for Dortmund in the summer of 2021, with many fans questioning whether he'd be getting regular game time with their first-team anytime soon.
But the title-chasing German side have put their faith in Bellingham, with the 17-year-old making 33 appearances in all competitions this term.
Bellingham played the full 90 minutes in Borussia Dortmund's recent win on aggregate over Spanish side Sevilla in the Champions League.
But did our writers here at Football League World predict that Bellingham would be so quick to star for Dortmund?
We discuss...
George Harbey:
I didn’t expect it, not at all.
Bellingham was obviously a hugely important player for Birmingham last season and was arguably one of the brightest prospects ever to grace the Championship.
He was more than deserving of his move to Dortmund, and I thought it would take him a little bit of time to embed himself and kick on for the German giants.
But after watching him in recent weeks, especially against Sevilla, he looks a class act and it doesn’t look like the step up has fazed him at all.
Perhaps no fans being there has helped him to settle in and ease those nerves a bit more, and they will be so excited to see him when they are allowed back into grounds.
Phil Spencer:
Absolutely not.
Jude Bellingham always looks like a top quality player in the making but I always thought it would take a few years for him to start playing at a top level.
That said with Borussia Dortmund we should never be surprised.
The German side have an excellent reputation for not just developing young talent but giving them a platform to thrive at the highest level and that's exactly what has happened with Bellingham.
It's great to see him doing so well and it seems like he's firmly on track to become a top player much quicker than I initially thought.
Toby Wilding:
To put it simply: no I did not.
Looking at his age and the size of the club that he was moving to, I got the impression that Dortmund were signing Bellingham more with the view of securing one for the future before another European giants beat them to it.
Indeed, given the step up that Bellingham had to make from the Championship to a Bundesliga title race and Champions League knockout stage battle, it did seem hard to imagine that the midfielder would have featured regularly for Dortmund.
Add to that the fact that Bellingham's last season with Birmingham, although undoubtedly encouraging, did suggest there was room for improvement, I did would wonder whether he would have been capable of making an immediate impact at Dortmund.
As it has been however, Bellingham appears to have slotted in brilliantly at Dortmund, which is testament to both his attitude in adapting to his new surroundings, and the club themselves, for helping him to settle so easily despite the pressure that will no doubt have been on him.