Tom Brady to bring Jude Bellingham back? Real Madrid star sees Birmingham City homecoming transfer date set by Peaky Blinders creator

Bellingham’s No.22 jersey was retired at St Andrew’s after packing bags for German giants Borussia Dortmund. A senior breakthrough had been made by the all-action midfielder at 16 years of age, breaking a record for the youngest debutant that had previously been held by Trevor Francis.

Just 44 appearances were taken in for Birmingham, with it quickly becoming clear that such remarkable potential could not be kept under wraps for long. Premier League heavyweights expressed interest in doing a deal, but a Bundesliga adventure was embraced before becoming a ‘Galactico’ at Santiago Bernabeu in 2023.

Bellingham is tied to a contract in Madrid through to 2029. Construction on Birmingham’s unique new stadium should be underway by then, with Knight dreaming of seeing a familiar face open that 62,000-seater venue in style. He told The Telegraph: “In the shadow of the chimneys of the new stadium, we watch Jude Bellingham score a hat-trick on the opening day of the season.”

Bellingham helped to form part of Birmingham’s promotional video for their grand stadium plans, with the £1.2 billion ($1.6bn) project including a ground that features 12 huge chimneys. Knight was also involved in that campaign and added: “He came back from Madrid and appeared in the film to launch the design for the stadium and did his bit. So I want him to come back [to play for Birmingham] one day.”

When could that happen? Bellingham will celebrate his 23rd birthday in June and Knight believes the Stourbridge native could return to familiar surroundings before turning 30. He said: “Twenty-eight. I’m saying maybe 28 come back then. Why not? I don’t know. I mean, who knows? Who knows what he’s going to do, but if we became good, I think he would come back.

“Everything depends on what happens on the pitch. If we become, you know, even mid-table Premier League and if we achieve some of the things that our owners want to do in terms of the match-day experience. If they can amplify that and we’re winning, then, on a good day, I think we can.”

Bellingham has become a global superstar since leaving Birmingham, with a talismanic role being taken on with England as they ready themselves for another shot at World Cup glory this summer.

Knight admits that it took him longer than most to spot that Bellingham was special. He said: “I obviously don’t know much about football because I never noticed how great he was to begin with. Other people quite early on were saying that kid’s really got something special. And then bit by bit it became obvious that he was different. He was so good. And the way he left was so good because he made sure that Blues benefited.”

Bellingham earned Birmingham an initial £25 million ($33m) fee, which has been invested in helping the club try and get back to the Premier League. Chairman Tom Wagner is overseeing that project, with NFL legend Tom Brady another of the club’s investors, and he has said of getting Bellingham on board: "I think Jude is the greatest player on the planet today and we haven’t seen anywhere near his full potential yet. Not just as a player, but also what he can do for a community, what he can do as a leader. If we can provide him with a platform to achieve his full potential, well that’s a great story. It’s a great Birmingham story, it’s a great England story and a great homecoming story.”

Birmingham are not out of the Championship play-off picture this season, but have work to do in order to chase down Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac’s Wrexham, who currently occupy sixth spot in the table.

They could, however, restore top-flight status at some point in the not-too-distant future, giving them time in which to build gradually among English football’s elite before any ambitious transfer play for Bellingham is made.