England need Jude Bellingham to prove he's the missing piece of midfield ahead of Euros

Even the most pessimistic England fan would struggle to claim they weren't even a little bit excited by the Three Lions' chances going into this summer's delayed European Championships.

With world class forward Harry Kane leading the line and creative sparks like Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Mason Mount at Gareth Southgate's disposal, Euro 2020 represents arguably the best chance of English success at a major tournament since the so-called golden generation.

However, for all the attacking flair at Southgate's fingertips, there's a number of areas of the squad that look massively threadbare, and their central midfield unquestionably falls into that category.

England have been crying out for a quality central midfielder for a long time now, with one-time heir to the Steven Gerrard throne, Jack Wilshere, failing to live up to the hype that surrounded him as a youngster. Meanwhile, a whole host of other midfielders have tried and failed to cement their place as England's engine-room lynchpin.

With Southgate having announced his squad to face San Marino, Albania and Poland in the upcoming 2022 World Cup qualifiers, one of the headlines of the announcement came in the form of Jude Bellingham's inclusion.

The Borussia Dortmund man already has one senior international cap to his name having been handed his Three Lions debut against Republic of Ireland last year, and Southgate is clearly keen to afford the youngster another opportunity in the senior side.

Dortmund had originally refused to allow the 17-year-old to meet up with his international colleagues due to growing fears he would be forced to quarantine for 14 days upon his return. However, it seems the two parties have now come to an agreement and Bellingham will play a part in the upcoming clashes.

The youngster's main competition for a place in the starting XI is likely to come from Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse and Kalvin Phillips, but if England really do hold lofty ambitions of reaching the latter stages of Euro 2020 they need Bellingham to showcase his quality over the coming weeks.

For far too long England have been fielding central midfielders who offer little more than solid passing stats and the odd impressive challenge. Players like Eric Dier and Fabian Delph have essentially acted as placeholders in the centre of the pitch as England wait for a player to emerge who can carry the team forward.

Bellingham can be that man. The young midfielder has already proven himself to have the physical attributes to be able to cope with a league like the Championship having represented Birmingham City last season, while his debut campaign at Dortmund has only seen him develop as a player and he's clearly got the drive and the ability needed to cut it as a central midfielder at the top level.

Not only is he already good enough to play at international level but he's also only going to get better, and the sooner England signal their intentions to build their team around the talented 17-year-old the better.

The upcoming World Cup qualifiers are going to be a huge test for both Bellingham and Southgate. First of all, the England boss needs to give the youngster a chance to prove he's the man to carry the team forward, instead of sticking with the same old players yet again and offering Bellingham ten-minute cameo roles from the bench so he can tick the 'giving youth a chance' box.

Should Bellingham be given his opportunity then it's up to him to take it and prove he can be his country's catalyst for future success.

England can't expect to field average midfielders and hope that stellar talents like Grealish and Kane are good enough to see them triumph over some of the best teams in the world.

To become a major international tournament winner there can be no weak links in the team, and England currently have a huge weak spot in central midfield.

If Bellingham is afforded his chance over the coming weeks and he grabs it with both hands, then England could have themselves a player who they know they can build their team around and who can help them go on to finally taste major international tournament success once again.