Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold have their secret handshakes, choreographed celebrations and are both linked with models – now could they end up at the same club?

One of Gareth Southgate’s strengths since taking over as England manager eight years ago has been bringing together a previously divided squad.

England’s ‘Golden Generation’ of the 2000s have regularly admitted that there were cliques in the camp when they came together, with club loyalty getting in the way of building team spirit.

That’s no longer a problem for the Three Lions, as everyone seems to be singing from the same hymn sheet, and that’s especially true when it comes to the blossoming bromance between Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The pair – who have both been linked to model girlfriends, with Bellingham reportedly linked to 25-year-old Dutch influencer Laura Celia Valk, while Alexander-Arnold, 25, is dating the daughter of British actor Jude Law , Iris, 23 – have been inseparable. at the European Championships and their bond only gets stronger on the field.

They started together in the England midfield on Sunday for their opening match of Euro 2024 against Serbia, and Bellingham proved to be the star of the show as he scored the only goal to give his side all three points.

After nodding home Bukayo Saka’s cross from close range, the 20-year-old peeled away from Bellingham and celebrated with his teammates.

But as the rest of the players jogged back for the restart, Bellingham and Alexander-Arnold stayed behind to unveil their new joint celebration.

Both men got down on one knee while covering their faces with their hands. Bellingham later explained that it was a reference to the game Wolf – or Werewolf as it is also known – a popular pastime within the England squad.

It is a card game that requires deception and strategic thinking and is based on a deduction-centered role-playing game called Mafia, created by Dimitry Davidoff in 1986, and is believed to have had a hand in inspiring the popular BBC One show The Traitors.

Bellingham told the BBC: “When we play Wolf, one of the staff likes that face when he has no idea what’s going on, so that was a small group celebration for the Wolf crew.”

But their celebration isn’t the only piece of choreography the duo has worked on. Ahead of England’s clash with Serbia, Bellingham and Alexander-Arnold were perfecting a new hilarious handshake routine, which left defender Ezri Konsa smiling in the background.

In a video posted online, the duo can be seen shaking hands, pointing their fingers in an upward motion and then taking turns blowing into their hands as if trying to extinguish a flame.

England players have been playing against Wolf since around the time of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which is also where fans really started to take notice of the friendship between Bellingham and Alexander-Arnold.

Bellingham quickly emerged as England’s star player as the tournament got underway, with speculation mounting over his club’s future as he looked certain to leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season.

Liverpool and Real Madrid appeared to be in pole position to land his signature, with some fans convinced Alexander-Arnold was doing his best to get Bellingham to Anfield as the duo took a stroll together in Qatar.

Alexander-Arnold insisted he was ‘just going out with a friend’ but was subsequently referred to as ‘Agent Trent’, with the two players never far apart during England’s time in the Middle East.

They were spotted together again after the tournament ended just a few months later when they attended a Chris Brown concert together.

But when Alexander-Arnold tried to persuade his friend to join Liverpool, he was ultimately unsuccessful. Bellingham chose Real Madrid, and it couldn’t have turned out much better: the attacking midfielder won LaLiga and the Champions League in his first season.

And now the tables may have been turned, with supporters recently accusing Alexander-Arnold of ‘flirting’ with Madrid after he named two of their club legends as his dream dinner guests.

After picking Reds icon Steven Gerrard, the right-back-turned-midfielder joined Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo to complete his list.

Alexander-Arnold has just one year left on his Liverpool contract and with Jurgen Klopp gone, he could consider a new challenge away from his boyhood club.

If that’s the case, Bellingham could have a word in his ear in Germany, and the two men have certainly spent a lot of time together in training.

Ahead of England’s clash with Serbia, Bellingham and Alexander-Arnold were perfecting a new hilarious handshake routine, which left defender Ezri Konsa smiling in the background.

They were then all smiles as they shared a joke on the training pitch, before producing the goods in the England opener in Gelsenkirchen.

Bellingham took the game by the scruff of the neck, while Alexander-Arnold showed a glimpse of why Southgate is keen to include him in his team, even in an unfamiliar midfield role. And of course the evening ended with their striking party.

They recreated it in training on Tuesday, with fellow midfielder Declan Rice as photographer to capture the moment, and if either man gets on the scoresheet against Denmark on Thursday, we’ll likely see the celebration again.

Questions have been raised about Alexander-Arnold’s ability to play in midfield against top-level opponents, but Bellingham jumped to his teammate’s defense after Sunday’s match, claiming ‘people talk a lot of rubbish’.

Southgate has a big decision to make over whether he should stay with Alexander-Arnold. If he does, we can only expect the link between Bellingham and Alexander-Arnold to become even better as they are clearly on the same page.