Peaky Blinders creator wants Jude Bellingham back in Birmingham

Cameron Smith

17 Mar 2026 07:30 CDT
3 min read

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight believes that Jude Bellingham could return to Birmingham City in 2031.

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The England international left his boyhood club to join Borussia Dortmund for a fee of €30.2 million in 2020 and the Blues retired his No.22 shirt number following his departure in order “to remember one of our own and to inspire others.”

Bellingham made 44 first-team appearances after breaking into the senior side at Birmingham, scoring four goals and providing two assists, and the Real Madrid superstar is now recognised as one of the best players in world football.

The 23-year-old has been an integral player for Los Blancos since his arrival ahead of the 2023-24 season, but rumours of a return to England have been mooted, with Chelsea and Manchester United among the clubs likely to pursue a deal if it becomes a possibility.

However, Knight, who is a boyhood Birmingham fan and was the executive producer of ‘Built in Birmingham: Brady and the Blues’, believes that Bellingham could be set to return to St Andrew’s in five years.

Jude Bellingham to return to Birmingham?

Speaking to The Telegraph ahead of the launch of ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man’ on Netflix, Knight said: “I want him to come back [to play for Birmingham] one day.

“Twenty-eight. I’m saying maybe 28 [years old] come back then. Why not? I don’t know. I mean, who knows? Who knows what he’s going to do, but if we became good, I think he would come back.”

Birmingham won promotion from League One back to the Championship last season and they are currently ninth in the second-tier of English football, having picked up 53 points from their opening 38 matches.

However, their play-off hopes have dwindled with only one win in their last five matches and a Premier League return will therefore likely be forced to wait until next year at the earliest.

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