Coaches and teammates on how Birmingham’s ‘skinny teenager’ developed into one of the world’s best players before his first Champions League final

This week Jude Bellingham offered a glimpse into the mind of a phenomenon by quietly admitting he had envisaged these days, just maybe not so soon. Little did he know, at the start of his teens, that one week training on the outskirts of Barcelona and another at the foothills of the Black Forest would provide him with something of a peek into the future. Birmingham City recognised the boy who joined at seven from Stourbridge Juniors would benefit from fresh challenges, different plains. They wanted to take him out of his ever-evolving comfort zone, though that was somewhere he rarely stayed long.

Birmingham sent Bellingham on a kind of footballing school exchange, to Cornellà and Freiburg, teams in Spain and Germany with whom they had links, to give him a taste of European football. On Saturday Bellingham will play in the continent’s grandest club match, when Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, his current and former clubs, duel for the Champions League at Wembley. It is a long way from his colourful early days in Birmingham’s pre-academy that Mike Dodds, who coached Bellingham during his first and last training sessions at the club, well remembers.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nooruddean Choudry, John Brewin and Ben Fisher for a Wembley special

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On the podcast today; the underdogs did it - Manchester United won the FA Cup after beating rivals Manchester City. It was an excellent performance but what does it mean for Erik ten Hag?

• ‘I love what we do and I’m not going to change’
• Southampton promoted after playoff win against Leeds

Russell Martin insisted Southampton will not shift styles on their return to the Premier League after victory in the Championship playoff final and vowed to prove any sceptics wrong. Saints sealed an instant return to the top flight after Adam Armstrong’s first-half strike was sufficient to beat Leeds and ­Martin said he plans to stick with his ­possession-based philosophy.

Martin, who captained Norwich to the Premier League via the playoff final nine years ago, has developed his style since taking his first steps into coaching in League One with MK Dons. He was tasked with earning promotion after leaving ­Swansea to take charge at Southampton last ­summer and revealed his first ­promotion as a manager was “the best feeling I’ve had in football”.

Southampton’s squad ventured to the Isle of Wight for a get-together at the end of the regular season, where the majority owner, Dragan Solak, who dragged his fingernails down his face during the final minutes at Wembley, promised they would have the party of their lives if they sealed promotion.

The chances are those celebrations will take place somewhere more salubrious after Adam Armstrong’s goal secured Southampton a return to the Premier League at the first attempt, via a typically fraught Championship playoff final.

• Championship club will be his fourth time in charge
• Rooney was sacked by Birmingham in January

Wayne Rooney has said accepting the Plymouth job is the “perfect next step” in his management career, with the former England captain thought to have signed a three-year contract as head coach of the Championship club.

Rooney returns to coaching after a chastening mid-season spell in charge of Birmingham, who were relegated to League One this month. The 38-year-old endured a difficult 83-day reign at Birmingham, where he lost nine of his 15 league matches. Plymouth finished 21st in the second tier and avoided relegation at Birmingham’s expense on the final day. Argyle will represent his fourth managerial job, after Derby, DC United and Birmingham.

• Former England captain set to revive managerial career
• Rooney had productive talks with Argyle’s director of football

Wayne Rooney’s appointment as Plymouth’s head coach is expected to be rubber-stamped in the next 24 hours, with the former England ­captain set to sign a three-year ­contract. Rooney is ­determined to repair his ­managerial reputation after a disastrous spell in charge of Birmingham, who were relegated to League One earlier this month.

The 38-year-old is poised to return in the Championship with Plymouth after holding productive talks with Neil Dewsnip, the club’s ­director of football with whom Rooney had a good ­relationship with from their time at Everton. ­Dewsnip, who ended the season in caretaker charge of the Devon club, coached in Everton’s academy before a teenage Rooney burst into the first team.

• Rooney has been out of work since being sacked by Birmingham
• Plymouth also spoke to Paul Heckingbottom about vacancy

Wayne Rooney is the leading candidate to take charge of Plymouth Argyle, with the Championship club keen on offering the former England captain a return to management.

Rooney has been out of work since being sacked by Birmingham in January, 83 days into a three-and-half-year contract.

• Barkley spent time on loan at Villa from Chelsea
• Midfielder expected to be available for modest fee

Aston Villa are closing on a deal to re-sign Ross Barkley on a permanent basis, four years after the midfielder joined on loan from Chelsea. Villa want to strengthen their squad for their first season in the Champions League or European Cup since 1982-83.

The 30-year-old, capped by England 33 times, excelled for Luton when joining on a free last summer, after a spell in Ligue 1 with Nice. Luton, who have been relegated, never disclosed the length of Barkley’s contract but it is thought to run into next season. Last month, Barkley said: “I want to play in the Premier League. I want to play in Europe again … I feel like for the next three years maybe I’ll still be in my prime years.”

Bournemouth’s manager on Marcelo Bielsa’s lessons, his love for cycling and why Unai Emery should beat him to awards

After an unforgiving start, Andoni Iraola has enjoyed an eye-catching first season in the Premier League, leading Bournemouth to their best points tally in the division, with a top‑half finish a distinct possibility heading into the final day. His work, imposing a breathless, aggressive style on a dynamic team, has earned him a nomination for the manager of the season award, as well as a new contract. As he approaches his first anniversary in charge next month, the closest thing to a grumble – as an avid cyclist – is the dearth of hilly terrain in Dorset. “The longest one is 200m,” he says with a smile, raising and then drooping his right hand. “It stops just as you are getting started.”

Raised in the Basque Country, the cycling heartland of Spain, Iraola has long been fascinated by the endurance and precision at the crux of competing on two wheels. During pre-season in Marbella last summer he was glued to the Tour de France over dinner and it was similar in his playing days, the majority spent at his boyhood club Athletic Bilbao, whom he captained to the Europa League final under Marcelo Bielsa in 2011-12. The pressures have changed since then.