​Before Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid and a starring role for England at the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer, Bellingham was one of the Sky Bet Championship’s brightest prospects, lining up against the Bees on a stormy afternoon in the West Midlands.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt was midway through his first senior season. He had already become Birmingham’s youngest first-team player and youngest goalscorer, but even the most astute supporter in the away end that day could not have predicted what the Blues’ no.22 would go on to do after the 1-1 draw.Heavy rain and strong winds from Storm Dennis made for difficult conditions, with the Bees firmly in the hunt for promotion to the Premier League.Birmingham were unbeaten in nine games and started fast. Within six minutes, Bellingham offered an early glimpse of the threat Brentford faced – and many of the leading sides in world football would later encounter.The youngster, who had already made 29 senior appearances and scored four goals for his boyhood club, cut inside from the left and curled a 20-yard effort beyond David Raya, only for the ball to strike the post and bounce clear.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHenrik Dalsgaard was playing at right-back for Brentford and found himself directly up against him.Dalsgaard recalls: “What I remember most about that game was the hype around Bellingham… but also how bad the pitch was!“I didn’t know much about him at the time, but there was a lot of talk about him.“I watched a few clips beforehand, but because he’s more of a drifter than a dribbler, he didn’t really have any obvious tells.“The way I remember it, I had pretty good control over him. As we’ve seen since, though, his best position is more central, whereas he played on the wing that day in a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It was definitely his physique that made him stand out as a 16-year-old. Thinking back to where I was at that age, it’s crazy to think he was already physically ready for a league as tough as the Championship.”“It was definitely his physique that made him stand out as a 16-year-old. It’s crazy to think he was already physically ready for such a tough league like the Championship”“It’s always difficult to play against young players because they often have a lot of confidence. You need to try to do something early in the game to stop them getting into a rhythm, because that only boosts their confidence.“Obviously, it’s impossible to know that someone is going to end up at Real Madrid, but his mentality, work ethic and physique gave him a really good foundation to build on.“It’s very impressive that he’s continued to develop into a world-class player.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBirmingham took the lead on 13 minutes. Bellingham’s movement inside helped open the channel for Gary Gardner, whose low cross was dummied by former Brentford striker Scott Hogan and finished by Lukas Jutkiewicz.Brentfo