Endrick has gone full Jude Belingham & now we’re terrified of what Real Madrid are cooking
Jude Bellingham has taken the footballing world by storm ever since moving to Real Madrid, becoming one of the most clutch players in the game and – right now – one of the best in the world.
Carlo Ancelotti has made a career of succeeding when being overlooked and underrated, thus it’s no surprise to see everybody not taking note of his latest masterclass in Madrid this season.
Despite losing Karim Benzema in the summer and having to work with a squad decimated by injuries, they’re locked into an unlikely La Liga title battle with Girona and have already shown the clutch credentials that will carry them through the Champions League.
Bellingham has been key to that, seemingly coming up with goals out of nowhere with frightening regularity. So out of nowhere, in fact, that even Randy Orton would struggle to keep up.
But what if we told you that this isn’t even their final form? Because it’s not.
Endrick has been simmering away in the background while Ancelotti fills his void in attack with Bellingham’s goals, but the Brazilian is due in Madrid this summer and he’s already looking destined for greatness at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Blessed with absurd flair and physical attributes, Endrick has already found a wickedly eye for goal and possesses the IQ to consistently get the ball there, be it through flicks and tricks or simply bursting his way into space with nobody able to stop him.
He proved instrumental in Palmeiras’ Championship win in 2023 and already appears to have matured in anticipation for his move to Europe in the summer, but what now stands out is his varying goal catalogue.
Endrick is now scoring ugly goals. The kind of ugly, poacher’s goals that Bellingham has been crowned a king for this season. And to learn that skill at just 17 is seriously scary.
He put it on show for Brazil’s under-23s against Colombia, pressing like a menace to win back the ball and laying it up for fellow young hotshot John Kenedy.
Having clearly been watching his future colleague Bellingham, Endrick sticks around and times a run into the box that allows him to land perfectly on Kenedy’s saved shot, slotting it home.
Brilliant recovery from Endrick, John Kennedy’s shot is saved and Endrick scores the rebound.
🇧🇷 1-0 🇨🇴
— All Things Brasil™ 🇧🇷 (@SelecaoTalk) January 26, 2024
It’s beautifully ugly. The kind of goal you expect your veteran striker to score while your young hotshot still learns the trade.
Not Endrick, though. He’s already got it in his locker. Joga Bonito takes a backseat when it’s time to win a game of football and carry a team on his back.
Seriously, how is this kid already so well-rounded? From the flair to the cool name and looking like an all-timer baller, there’s not a lot he doesn’t have.
To put the gloss on an incredibly clutch finish, Endrick even paid homage to his future teammate, giving us a terrifying glimpse into (another) Madrid-dominated future full of torment and ruined childhoods.
Endrick on IG 🤍 pic.twitter.com/JS01q0EoYw
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) January 27, 2024
The step up to play for one of the biggest and most successful sides in the history of football is nigh-on incomprehensible, but if there’s any teenager in world football destined to make that step-up look seamless, it’s Endrick.
Sticking him between Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, ahead of Bellingham, all of whom are being managed by a veteran Ancelotti? We might as well start lumping money on another Champions League three-peat right now.
We cannot wait to see this kid pull on that historic white jersey.
By Mitch Wilks
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