England’s next captain debate settled amid Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice battle

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Jude Bellingham has been tipped to succeed Harry Kane as England captain by talkSPORT’s Henry Winter.The 23-year-old produced yet another standout display against Croatia on Saturday.Bellingham has been hailed as a ‘special player’ after another standout display for EnglandGettyBellingham scored and provided three assists for the Three Lions as they claimed a 7-0 away victory in Rijeka.It takes his tally for England to 14 in 59 caps despite not turning 24 for another eight months.According to Winter, Bellingham has shown all of the qualities of a future England captain.The armband is currently held by Kane, who was named skipper back in 2018.Bellingham tipped for captaincyDiscussing Bellingham’s impact on Sunday Edition alongside Shaun Custis, Winter said: “He’s a fantastic role model. He’s a top professional.“He’s playing for a club which has probably got the most pressure on it in the world and he’s relishing it.“You saw when he went to Real Madrid, he took (Zinedine) Zidane’s shirt. It was a player he idolised growing up and he was fantastic that season.“There’s already a debate within the FA and coaching circles about whether he becomes a number nine because we don’t have any centre forwards really coming through at the moment.“When Harry Kane moves on, whenever it is, the way Kane is playing he is going to be around for a while.“So he’s a truly special player. He’s England’s next captain for me.”Bellingham should be England’s next captain in the eyes of WinterAFPBellingham inherited the No.5 shirt upon signing for Real Madrid in 2023.The midfielder has since made 148 appearances, scoring 49 goals as well as winning four trophies including the Champions League.However, there appears to be another player ahead of Bellingham in Thomas Tuchel’s current captaincy pecking order.Declan Rice was named vice-captain behind Kane prior to the World Cup in June.Pearce on RiceReacting to the decision at the time, Stuart Pearce told talkSPORT: “I’ve always viewed Rice from afar… maybe I’m slightly biased towards him as I’ve worked with him… that he’d thrive in an environment like that.“I would love to see him as the Arsenal captain, I can’t believe that he’s not Arsenal captain.Rice was named England vice-captain prior to the World CupGetty“I think he would flourish in the role and he is captain material, so him being England vice-captain is fantastic to see.”Rice is absent from the current squad due to a hamstring injury but is set to return to action following the international break.The 27-year-old has already won 80 caps for the Three Lions, having made his debut in 2019.He has also been part of the last four tournament squads along with Bellingham.