Real Madrid News
Arsenal legend hits out at ‘tap in’ criticism directed towards Bellingham: “They don’t understand”
After losing out on the La Liga title to Barcelona last season, fans of Real Madrid undeniably sought improvements in the squad as recruitments were deemed necessary to overcome the disparity between their league rivals.
Having signed Jude Bellingham for €103 million from Borussia Dortmund, it is safe to say the Merengues‘ investment in the Englishman has bore fruit, as gloominess has been replaced by an air of optimism among the Real Madrid faithful.
Bellingham has enjoyed a stellar start to life in La Liga, propelling Real Madrid to a first-place position in the league with the club back in familiar territory.
Moreover, his late winner in the Champions League exemplified his abilities on the big stage.
Wright defends Jude Bellingham
Such performances have given rise to heaps of praise being showered on his name, with Arsenal legend Ian Wright also chiming in with admiration for the English star boy speaking at the EA 42 event via FIVE UK
As is the case with most players on the ascendancy, nitpicking regarding their performances tends to increase, and Bellingham has fallen victim to being judged by his quality of goals, with rival fans branding the 20-year-old a ‘tap-in merchant’.
However, Wright was quick to put those claims to bed, stating: “Other day I saw some people make compilations and be like ‘All Jude scores are tap-ins’.
“What they don’t understand is that to go 20 yards in elite football and find space in the box, top defenders are trying to stop you, yet he’s putting pressure, scoring with an unbelievable movement on a regular basis.”
Ian Wright appreciated Bellingham’s work thus far and his impressive scoring record, as he leads the Pichichi charts in La Liga and is a competitor for the Golden Boot as of now.
Wright himself was hailed as a predatory scorer and thus understands the art of timing runs and sniffing goals in the opposition box.
The legendary Arsenal player always managed to score, whether it took a lavish 30-yard chip or a toe-poke from two yards.
Wright was one of the best and most explosive strikers to play in the English game thanks to his arsenal of goals and therefore praise from him is certainly an indicator of the massive strides Bellingham has taken.
Real Madrid’s main goal heading into the summer transfer window was to wrap up the signing of Jude Bellingham amid massive interest from Premier League giants such as Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea.
Pep Guardiola’s City, especially, were ready to match and increase any salary Madrid offered, and were going strongly into the bidding war.
Eventually, Bellingham decided to join Madrid after they reached an agreement with Borussia Dortmund for €3 million.
However, following this, los blancos had to improvise a fair bit as Karim Benzema decided to leave the club to join Al-Ittihad on a free transfer. They were expecting him to continue for another season, at least, and it stumped their plans in the market.
In the next few weeks, Madrid chased forwards, and ended up signing Joselu, Brahim Diaz, and a certain Arda Guler, who was close to Barcelona before eventually ending up at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Unfortunately for Madrid, he is yet to play a single minute for the club after picking up a serious injury in pre-season. Despite being on the bench for a couple of games, Guler suffered a relapse in training, and was sidelined again.
Now, reports from Yagiz Sabuncuoglu say that the Turkish international is close to returning to team training.
Guler has slowly, but surely, been recovering from his injury, and could take to the pitch for his first minutes with the club in the next few weeks as Madrid look for solutions after a month full of injuries.
With Vinicius Jr, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eder Militao, and Thibaut Courtois all out until early 2024, Madrid have relied on Castilla for reinforcements, but could do with Guler’s services in their forward line.
That said, Carlo Ancelotti and co. are expected to be extremely cautious when it comes to the Turkish international. The slightest spell of poor man-management here could make or break the youngster’s career.
Myron Bennett
September 23, 2023 at 12:37 am
I’m not a Madrid fan, but his game is special & he brings a lot of dynamic to Madrid. Passing, finding and getting in space directly in front of goal. Ball movement and goals,goals. He’s doing what he’s set out to do.👏👏👏
Patrick Julien
September 23, 2023 at 2:09 am
People making those tap-in comments are ignorant. A goal is a goal! I can remember Barcelona fans throwing similar shade on Lewandowski, but look now they’re too happy to have said tap-in specialist doing just that for them in their colors.
M.E Leboko
September 24, 2023 at 12:13 am
F then what goals of Bellingham became simple tap-in goals,it should be known that it is a simple skill Los blanco lacked for all these recent passed years.
That simplicity of scoring if might be passed to other players,Real Madrid will conquer Europe football.