Jude Bellingham is Madrid royalty and Harry Kane is off to a flier: How the other English stars are getting on abroad – from big names to forgotten men

Eric Dier and Jadon Sancho have joined a growing list of English stars who are currently plying their trade outside of the United Kingdom. 

While both have moved to Germany, Dier will link up with his former Tottenham team-mate Harry Kane at Bayern Munich, while Sancho is set to return to his former club Borussia Dortmund. 

Sancho returned to action for his former club last week and got straight back to action, providing an assist in their 3-0 win against Darmstadt. 

But right now, a wealth of young English stars and established talents have moved away from the UK in search of more regular game time and major honours – with Jude Bellingham the leading light among them and already being treated like royalty in Madrid.

So, how have they all been faring this season? 

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Harry Kane – Bayern Munich

It’s been some start to life in Germany for the England captain. 

While there was much speculation around how the transfer would work out for Kane, with Jamie Redknapp calling the transfer ‘one of the bravest moves I’ve ever seen a Premier League player make’, Kane has gone on to sensationally score 26 goals in 23 games across all competitions. 

That is quite some return, but it hasn’t all been plain sailing for the Bayern Munich striker, who recently opened up on how the transition has been. 

‘Yeah it’s been difficult it was my first move in my career and I probably didn’t realise how much goes into it with the personal stuff and the family,’ Kane said.

‘I’ve got family and four kids. So thankfully we’ve found a house now and we’ll be looking to move in after the winter break.’

Initially, the 30-year-old had to stay in a £10,000-a-night hotel in Muinch, but seems to have settled into life in Germany and will now be joined by his former Tottenham team-mate, Dier.

Mason Greenwood – Getafe

Greenwood completed a deadline day loan move to Getafe during the summer transfer window, after he was exiled from Manchester United. 

The 22-year-old’s deal with the LaLiga club is expected to last until the end of the season, with Greenwood having now returned five goals and four assists in 18 games across all competitions for the Spanish side. 

Recent speculation has arisen that Atletico Madrid have ‘made an approach to sign the forward’ who could be available for £40million. 

More recently, Greenwood was mocked online by Sevilla’s social media accounts after the Spanish outfit claimed he was ‘in Sergio Ramos’ back pocket’ following Sevilla’s 3-1 victory against Getafe.  

Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid

From Birmingham City to the Bernabeu, Bellingham is standing on the brink of greatness. 

His storied rise to becoming one of the best midfielders in world football at the mere age of 20 years old, is simply astonishing. 

As are his feats for Real Madrid this season, after he arrived at the LaLiga giants last summer in a deal worth £113million from Borussia Dortmund.  

While many would struggle with the pressure of playing for Los Blancos, the England midfielder has been unphased by the mantle on his shoulders, and has easily been the best player in Carlo Ancelotti’s side so far this season. 

The midfielder has sensationally scored 17 goals this season in 25 games across all competitions. He’s also returned two assist in that time too. 

His contributions to Madrid have been pivotal this season, notably scoring a brace in his first El Clasico appearance, to help Carlo Ancelotti’s side come back from going 1-0 down to seal victory against their fierce rivals. 

Bellingham also picked up his first piece of silverware with his new club last week after they beat Barcelona 4-1 to win the Spanish Super Cup. 

He celebrated the win by parading a Grand Theft Auto themed banner on the pitch at full-time, but considering his recent form, the sky is the limit for Bellingham. 

This won’t be the first time we see him win silverware at Real Madrid for sure. 

Fikayo Tomori – AC Milan 

Following his £25m move from Chelsea to AC Milan, Tomori has excelled for the Serie A club. 

Before his departure, the centre back would go on to make 27 first-team appearances for the west London outfit, but struggled in the later parts of 2020 and 2021 to assert himself as a regular starter in Frank Lampard’s side. 

Since his move to Italy, the 23-year-old has excelled to becoming a key marshall in defence for Milan having also helped guide them to the semi-finals of last year’s Champions League. 

He’s even added goals to his game too, with Tomori finding the back of the net three times in 16 Serie A appearances this season. 

His excellent form in Italy has seen him put himself into conversations over whether he could receive a call-up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad for this summer’s Euros.

Plus there’s been some talk of him making a return to the Premier League. Tomori is an experienced defender and understands the physicality of the Premier League and Champions League. But it will take a hefty deal to lure him away from Milan, with Arsenal reportedly being linked to sign him.  

Tammy Abraham – Roma  

It was an agonising end to the 2023-24 season for Roma star Tammy Abraham. 

He was carried off on a stretcher after playing just 18 minutes of their 2-1 win against Spezia at the Stadio Olimpico. After the game, it was confirmed that Abraham suffered an anterior Cruciate ligament injury and had subsequently undergone surgery to remedy the issue. 

It was an awful way to end the season, with Abraham having impressed in the past two campaigns for the Serie A outfit, scoring 17 Serie A goals in 2021-22, before going on to return eight goals and four assists in 38 league appearances last season.

Reports had claimed that he could have returned in December but it appears he has still not recovered from the injury, but could now be targeting a return at the end of January or possibly even in mid-February after being spotted undergoing some light training. 

Ruben Loftus-Cheek – AC Milan 

Some have called Loftus-Cheek’s £18.5m summer move from Chelsea to AC Milan a bargain for the Serie A side, and perhaps those claims are right. 

Back in October he also sent a message to his former club claiming that he is glad to have moved away from Stamford Bridge, stating per Goal: ‘I was at Chelsea for 20 years of my life, this is a special time for me to finally break away from the club, start a new chapter in my life and for it to be at AC Milan is incredible.’

In the first six months of his spell in Italy, Loftus-Cheek has been a pivotal figure in Stefano Pioli’s team sheets. Alongside Tomori, the 27-year-old has started in midfield in 13 Serie A matches, having been named in the squad 17 times. 

Equally, while Milan failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, Tomori started in four of their group-stage matches, having missed the other two with an adductor injury.  

While Chelsea never seemed to have total faith in his abilities, it seems Pioli’s side are giving him what he needed – consistent opportunties to play at the top level. 

Chris Smalling – Roma

The 34-year-old’s contract is set to expire in 2025, with Roma having reportedly been open to offers for the defender this January. 

There have been some claims that he could even move to Saudi Arabia, with the ex-Man United star having signed a two-year extension last summer. 

Smalling, who initially joined the club on loan back in 2019 before his deal was made permanent a year later, has played just three times this season having been out of action for nearly five months with a chronic knee issue. 

Interestingly he made headlines earlier this week after hitting back at comments from now-sacked manager Jose Mourinho, who claimed that Smallling ‘isn’t capable of playing through the pain’ while adding ‘there are people who aren’t high performance athletes who have a greater pain threashold’. 

But Smalling hit back at his former boss, defending himself, stating: ”No footballer wants to spend their days in a treatment room, and this period of time away from my teammates has challenged me, with setback after setback. I have, and will always, put the needs of my team-mates first, but the absolute priority for the medical team is to guarantee that I can play a significant role in the latter part of the season and for seasons to come.’

Ainsley Maitland-Niles – Lyon

Maitland-Niles left Arsenal on a free transfer to Lyon last summer after having spent the entirety of last season on loan at Southampton. 

It came after the Arsenal youth academy graduate had spent the last four season on loan at different clubs, making his debut for Arsenal back in 2014 at the age of 17. 

And so far things have perhaps not been going the best for the 26-year-old midfielder. In fact, according to L’Equipe, Lyon are reportedly open to selling their summer signing.

He has failed to become a regular starter in the Ligue 1 outfit’s first team, having made a meagre eight appearances, starting in just four of those matches, during the first half of the season. 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Besiktas 

After his contract with Liverpool expired last summer, former England star Oxlade-Chamberlain decided to move to Turkey joining Besiktas on a free transfer. 

But it’s been a mixed start to life in the Turkish Super Lig for the 30-year-old midfielder. His experience having played in the Premier Leauge has seen him earn plenty of game time with the Turkish outfit, with Oxlade- Chamberlain scoring four goals across 22 appearances in all competitions. 

Despite that, he was shown a straight red card after he was embrolied in the centre of a heated clash at the end of Besiktas’ Europa Conference League game against Lugano back in December. 

A week later, he would suffer a hamstring tear that could see him spend an extensive period of time on the sidelines. 

Jonjo Shelvey – Rizespor 

After joining Nottingham Forest on loan from Newcastle back in January 2023, Shelvey went out on loan to Turkish Super Lig outfit Rizespor in September and has enjoyed a decent spell with the Super Lig outfit. 

He has started in 14 league matches so far this season, featuring in 16, helping the Turkish side rise to 16th in the top-flight. 

While he’s not been too prolific in front of goal, registering just one strike this season, it was a cracking goal, with Shelvey imprersonating David Beckham to score from beyond the half-way line. 

Angel Gomes – Lille

The Former Man United academy graduate moved to Lille on a free transfer back in 2020 and after a loan spell with Boavista, he’s back at Lille and is getting regular game time for the Ligue 1 outfit, who have risen to fifth in the table. 

Last year, he opened up on how he has been thriving since leaving Man United, with Gomes having returned two goals in 25 appearances across all competitions this season for Lille. 

Marcus Edwards – Sporting Lisbon

Former Spurs winger Edwards is another young star who’s enjoying a fine season abroad. 

The 25-year-old has scored six goals and made five assists across 26 appearances for the Portuguese outfit in all competitions. 

And his excellent form has also garnered him the attention of several clubs, including former side, Tottenham.

Reports claim that Spurs have a ‘buy-back clause that could see them pay just 65 per ent of Sporting Lisbon’s release fee’ for Edwards. 

Jordan Henderson – Ajax  

It’s been an interesting six months for ex-Liverpool captain, Henderson, with things not exactly going to plan in Saudi Arabia. 

This week he agreed a deal to join Ajax after terminating his £350,000-per-week deal at Al-Ettifaq.

It will be fascinating to see how he gets on over the coming weeks and see whether he can regain his best form to help an ailing Ajax side who are well out of the title race in Holland.  

Henderson would go on to play 19 games with the Saudi Arabian club, but recent reports claimed that he was desparate for a move back to the Premier League.

Henderson has defended his decision to move to Saudi Arabia, following his u-turn back to Europe.