JUDE BELLINGHAM (£6m) has become the most-popular player in Dream Team’s Euros fantasy game.
With an ownership of 51.3%, England’s No10 is currently the only individual who features in the majority of teams created.
The Real Madrid superstar was unquestionably the Three Lions’ inspiration in an otherwise disjointed performance against Serbia in Matchday 1.
His emphatic header in the 13th minute proved to be the game’s only goal.
Add in 86 minutes, three tackles plus three bonus points and Bellingham returned 13 points when all was said and done – only two midfielders banked more in Matchday 1.
But the 20-year-old’s talismanic showing in Gelsenkirchen is just one of reason he’s become the most-selected asset in Dream Team Euros as he’s benefited from some misfortune elsewhere.
Kylian Mbappe (£7.5m) had the highest ownership at one stage but France’s captain is a major doubt to face Netherlands in Matchday 2 after breaking his nose against Austria.
Real Madrid’s newest Galactico was the most transferred-out player prior to the Matchday 2 deadline by a huge margin.
Meanwhile, Bellingham was the third most-common recruit with many gaffers opting to replace Mbappe with an expensive, high-profile player who notched a double-digit haul in their first outing – Jamal Musiala (£4.5m) and Kai Havertz (£4.5m) were the other popular selections.
Harry Kane (£7.5m) is the only other man who has been the most-selected player in Dream Team Euros at any point.
England’s all-time top scorer is not far behind Bellingham as it stands with an ownership of 49% but it’s interesting he didn’t leap into first place in the wake of Mbappe’s injury.
A straight swap between the two most-expensive players in the game, who scored the same number of club goals (44) during the domestic season, would have seemed like a no-brainer for many Dream Team Euros bosses.
No doubt a sizeable chunk gaffers were unconvinced by the nature of Kane’s performance against Serbia.
He touched the ball just twice in the first half and while he got more involved after the break, his main contribution was buying cheap free-kicks to wind down the clock.
That being said, Kane did force Predag Rajkovic (£2m) into a sharp close-range save with a powerful back-post header that rebounded off the bar.
Had that effort crossed the line, the narrative around England would be very different and their skipper would probably be the most-popular player by a distance in Matchday 2.
If Kane is going to continue to stay high then goals are essentially his only route to substantial points – not necessarily a drawback for a striker who has has bagged 63 goals in 92 caps at international level.
Bellingham doesn’t offer the same level of goal threat as Kane (who is also first-choice penalty taker) but he has more avenues to points: tackles, bonus points, etc.
It will be fascinating to see what will happen if Gareth Southgate’s side underwhelm against Denmark today.
Will gaffers stick by Bellingham, Kane and company if their attacking stats pale in comparison to the other top teams?
Germany assets are already on the charge and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Musiala became the most-popular player in the game prior to the round of 16.
Over to you, England…
