Abdulai Bell-Baggie

Early career

Bell-Baggie was born in Sierra Leone and moved to England with his family in 1999, remaining in England with a foster family when his parents returned to Sierra Leone in 2005. He attended Hillside and Bulmershe College in Berkshire as a youth, and became a part of the set-up at Reading at age nine. Though he spent some time at Southampton's youth team, he returned to Reading in 2007. He was awarded a club number in December 2009. He joined League Two side Rotherham United on a one-month loan in March 2010, making his professional debut as a substitute on 16 March 2010 in a 2–1 defeat at Accrington Stanley, replacing Marcus Marshall a few minutes before full-time. His first start came in a 3–0 defeat at Aldershot on 5 April, after this game the loan spell was extended until the end of the season. However, his twelfth and final match for the club was the most significant game of his season, as he replaced Kevin Ellison late into the play-off final defeat to Dagenham and Redbridge at Wembley on 30 May 2010. In August 2010, he was brought in by Port Vale's Micky Adams on a one-month loan to cover for Lewis Haldane, who was recovering from illness. This move came despite an offer of another loan spell from Rotherham United, and talk of Aldershot expecting the winger to join them on loan. After one substitute appearances he stated his aim to win a place in the starting eleven, however, he finished his loan spell with only one start – in the Football League…

Bell-Baggie turned out for England at both under-16 and under-17 levels. He lifted the Victory Shield in 2007 with the under-16s, Bell-Baggie starting in the 2–0 win over Wales and the 2–1 win against Scotland. In August 2008 he made two appearances for the under-17s, in a 2–1 defeat by Portugal and a 2–0 win over Italy. Bell-Baggie made his senior debut with Sierra Leone in a 1–0 defeat to Cape Verde at the Estádio da Várzea in a World Cup qualifier on 15 June 2013.

Rotherham United manager Ronnie Moore considered him to be an "impact player". He went on to say, "he's got electric pace. He's brave and strong and has got a lot of goals for the Reserves and kids. He's two footed and can play on the left wing and gets into little pocket. He turns and twists and, even at his young age, he knows the game."

In 2011, Bell-Baggie was living with his girlfriend, Natalie, sister of Adam Lallana.