Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and the top 20 footballing Brits abroad in 2024-25 - ranked

We start with someone who probably wouldn't have imagined himself playing in Europe at the start of the season. Lloyd Kelly joined Newcastle on a free transfer from Bournemouth over the summer, but failed to make an impression at St James' Park and was shipped off to Juventus on loan with an obligation to buy.

The 26-year-old has made four appearances for Thiago Motta's side at the time of writing, notably putting in a couple of poor showings on their way to Champions League elimination at the hands of PSV, though his Serie A outings have been a little more promising.

Scotland striker Oli McBurnie's time in the Canary Islands with Las Palmas has been confusing. He's a regular starter, made 21 La Liga appearances, yet has still somehow not scored a goal.

He does have four assists so far and has been praised for both his hold-up play and work rate, but with Las Palmas teetering above the relegation zone in 17th, they could do with McBurnie chipping in with some actual goals himself to steer them to safety.

One of two 'Scott Mc's on this list, Scott McKenna has too played huge minutes for Las Palmas as they fight to beat the drop. Unlike McBurnie, the defender hasn't failed as much at his primary job and has as many goals as his compatriot.

McKenna's trip to the Canaries comes after a surprise spell in Denmark with Copenhagen. At this point of his career, the ex-Nottingham Forest man is doing side quests, and you have to respect that kind of hustle.

The EFL is now a respected pipeline when it comes to young talent, which is why Marseille were so desperate to pry Jonathan Rowe away from Norwich City in the summer of 2024. The winger was more heavily involved in Roberto De Zerbi's side's fast start to 2024-25, but has seen his minutes largely reduced since, with OM's other attackers taking the acclaim.

As an aside, Rowe is the only Marseille player on this list, with Mason Greenwood nearing an association switch to Jamaica.

Away from the controversies and tales of his manic personal life, Kyle Walker has mostly enjoyed his start to life at AC Milan and has already been tipped to become the club's future captain.

The Manchester City loanee has looked reinvigorated in Italy, and the Rossoneri will be crossing their fingers he will make a swift recovery from a hamstring injury with a key run of games coming up.

It was cruel and unjust that reigning Serie A Midfielder of the Year Lewis Ferguson suffered a cruciate ligament tear that denied him the chance to go to Euro 2024 with Scotland. Now back to fitness, he's still trying to find his feet again amid Bologna's drop-off from last season.

With just under half a year of football still to play, here's hoping Ferguson can become as prolific again as a certain other Scottish midfielder now playing in Italy. There's still hope of securing more European football for 2025-26 too, with Bologna eighth in Serie A.

If Ruben Loftus-Cheek had never been injury prone, he would probably be playing for a team better than the one sat seventh in Serie A. Then again, he may not have allowed AC Milan to fall so far down the table.

Now 29 and one of the older heads at San Siro, Loftus-Cheek can still impose his influence in the dressing room, but it's undeniably a shame he isn't able to grace the pitch more often.

The ACL tear sustained by Tammy Abraham in 2023 was a devastating blow to a career that was reigniting in Italy. It ended pretty much all of last season at Roma, and he's been unable to find that former rhythm during his on loan at AC Milan.

In all competitions, Abraham's scored eight goals in 34 matches, which isn't actually too bad. Two in 21 Serie A matches is a far less forgiving stat, though this could be explained by the whole team's underperformance this year under two different managers in Paulo Fonseca and now Sergio Conceicao.

You'd be called a liar if you claimed you could see Eric Dier's career arc sending him to Bayern Munich as the experienced head in the dressing room. You just didn't see that coming, alright?

Having been deemed surplus to requirements at Tottenham under Ange Postecoglou, Dier has made himself useful in southern Germany as a dependable back-up option. For someone whose stock was below the floor by the time he left Spurs, that's more than a decent enough outcome, and he's put in some decent displays when called upon this year under Vincent Kompany.

When AC Milan were crowned champions of Italy in 2022, it seemed for all the world Fikayo Tomori would go down as their next legendary defender. For one reason or another, he hasn't kicked on as expected.

On his day, he's still a premier Serie A centre-back. It's more that his day only comes once every couple of months now, with a range of inconsistent performances coming between them. Milan were ready to cut ties in January when they accepted an offer from Tottenham, only for Tomori to reject the move back to London and reaffirm his commitment for the Rossoneri.

On paper, Billy Gilmour playing in Italy makes a whole lot of sense. His diminutive stature and technical qualities ought to make him a fine Serie A midfielder.

It's not been as successful as planned, but at least there have still been shoots of promise. Gilmour was a Napoli regular in the first half of the season following his summer move from Brighton, though game time has been much harder to come by during the winter and as we head into the spring.

Napoli's title bid is faltering, so there may be room for the slight Gilmour to squeeze his way back in before the year is out.

It's been a pretty fine and normal season for Jordan Henderson at Ajax. You know, either side of a few days of madness at the very end of the January transfer window.

With not long left to complete deals, Henderson reportedly asked to leave having agreed a deal with Monaco. Ajax refused, and after he was threatened with his removal as captain, he stayed and blasted the story as false.

With the Amsterdam giants on course to win the Eredivisie, that should be water under the bridge and merely a funny footnote in his tale with the club considering some of his excellent displays along the way.

The main caveat against Ivan Toney's accomplishments in 2024-25 is the standard of opposition he has faced out in Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, he has held up his end of the bargain.

Al-Ahli are way off the pace in the Saudi Pro League title race, sitting fifth in the standings, but Toney's scoring has been the success of their season, tallying 11 in the league and 17 in all competitions.

The Golden Boot isn't too far out of distance for Toney either, as he is only five strikes behind leaders Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

Yeah, didn't expect to see Che Adams so high here, did you? The Scotland international is thriving in Italy with Torino, his step abroad fully justified and vindicated at his new home.

A return of eight goals and four assists through 26 matches this term is already breathing down the neck of his best-ever for a top-flight club. Maybe there's something in the Italian waters that Scots seem to feed off of better.

The fine credit Angel Gomes had stored in the bank during his adventures in France finally led him to gold this season, earning his first England caps during Lee Carsley's interim reign. He's clocked up 133 appearances during half a decade with the Ligue 1 side, with 19 of those coming in 2024-25.

Gomes began the season brightly, though has seen his playing time reduced following a couple of niggling injuries sustained over the winter. There's also increasing uncertainty over his future at Stade Pierre-Mauroy with his contract about to expire and Tottenham said to be sniffing around for a free transfer.

If you're an Englishman coming through at Borussia Dortmund, you're probably going to be nurtured correctly. This year, Jamie Gittens' has made the leap to become one of BVB's star players after a couple of seasons waiting in the shadows.

It's not been a particularly fantastic year for Dortmund either, despite their progression to the last 16 of the Champions League, as they are floundering away in the Bundesliga's mid-table. Gittens has still managed to rise above the noise and continue his own personal development.

With Champions League football unlikely for next season, Dortmund are said to be considering selling Gittens in the summer for a fee that could near the nine-figure mark. You'd think an England call-up from Thomas Tuchel would be peering over the horizon to boot.

Conor Gallagher's still in his adaptation period over at Atletico Madrid, and yet still he's found a meaningful way to contribute as Los Rojiblancos go in search of the Spanish title.

A perfect stylistic match for Diego Simeone, the Englishman has played in so many different roles so far this season and has been utilised in so many different ways (including as a singer in a strange collaboration). This is despite hardly knowing a lick of Spanish and being essentially forced out of his boyhood club over the summer.

Gallagher could very conceivably end the year with a La Liga winners' medal wrapped around his neck. Maybe leaving Chelsea was good for his career after all, and boy could Enzo Maresca do with an all-action midfielder right now.

Not only has Scott McTominay been the star of Napoli's season, but he's Naples' new favourite foreign son. He's been dubbed a king, partner Cam Reading his queen. The streets liken him to the great Diego Maradona.

Leaving Manchester United might have been the best thing the Scotland international has ever done, finding a perfect home in southern Italy. Antonio Conte has found his ideal midfielder for the style of football he wants, and the numbers back up what we've been watching, with McTominay coming up with seven goals and four assists for Napoli already.

If Gli Azzurri go on to pip Inter to the Serie A title - only their second in the post-Maradona era - then McTominay will elevate himself to another plain. He might be their new God. How's it going back over there at Old Trafford again?

The search for a first career trophy appears to be nearing an end for Harry Kane, who has spearheaded Bayern Munich's charge to swipe back the Bundesliga title from Bayer Leverkusen.

The club's top brass made the requisite changes to build a team strong enough to compete on all fronts again, and Kane has more than played his part during his second year in Bavaria. Not only has he conjured up 29 goals, but he's also continued his progression as a creator, plucking up 10 assists in the 32 matches he's featured in at club level.

Surely this will be Kane's year. Surely he will end the season with silverware in his grasp.

Of course, Jude Bellingham takes the crown. Even despite dropping down a spot to Real Madrid's third-biggest star thanks to Kylian Mbappe's arrival, he's still gone about his business as usual.

His novelty as a new signing has too worn off, as has his incredible feat of scoring a last-minute winner seemingly every week. He's still managed to tally a double-double already this season, registering 11 goals and 11 assists in 34 games across all competitions by the end of February.

Another La Liga and Champions League double is on for Madrid, and you just know Bellingham will have a huge say along the way if they are successful in those ventures.