Jude Bellingham picked up where he left off last season, Mason Greenwood has huge boots to fill and two ex-Chelsea stars look to force their way back into England contention - the Brits abroad to look out for this season

Like a polar bear in an urban city or Calum Best in a Martin Scorsese movie, an English footballer playing abroad was once a curious oddity. 

But no more. Players from these shores have been plying their trade on the continent and further afield for some years now and the results, at least in the high-profile cases, have largely been successful. 

Twenty-four English players and managers currently work for clubs in Europe's top five leagues - excluding the Premier League. While there are countless others around the world. 

Notable examples include Three Lions stars Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, who have been the shining examples of this change. And their respective triumphs appear to have motivated a swathe of others to pursue opportunities outside of the British Isles. 

Here, Mail Sport takes a look at some of the Brits abroad who fans should keep an eye out for in the new domestic campaign. 

Jude Bellingham - Real Madrid

Where better to start than with the most high-profile name of them all. In the last 12 months, Jude Bellingham has become one of the most recognisable faces on the planet, due to his time playing with Borussia Dortmund, Real madrid and England. 

The 21-year-old comes into the new season off the back of a strange summer. Sure, he was part of Gareth Southgate's side that reached the final of Euro 2024 but, in all honesty, he was pretty bad for most of the competition. 

That being said, he scored a stunning goal that rescued England's campaign that will live long in the memory. Add in his success in the penalty shootout win over Switzerland and you have to mark it down as a productive month. 

He returns to Real Madrid with yet another Galactico to contend with and on the evidence of his link-up with Kylian Mbappe in the Super Cup win over Atalanta, Los Blancos are eyeing another trophy-laden campaign. 

Harry Kane - Bayern Munich

Much like Bellingham, Harry Kane was poor during England's run to the Euro 2024 final. And much like Bellingham, those performances didn't stop him from providing crucial contributions and sharing the tournament Golden Boot. Strange stuff indeed.

Kane scored 44 goals and registered 12 assists in 46 games in all competitions last season. 

A truly staggering tally that resulted in a grand total of zero trophies. Still without one in his career, achieving that elusive goal will be his ultimate aim this term.

The Bavarian giants have a new manager at the helm, former Burnley boss Vincent Kompany, and his progress will be keenly analysed in the season ahead. 

Bayern have also recruited ex-Premier League stars Joao Palhinha and Michael Olise, who they hope will help fire them past Bayer Leverkusen, who surely can't be as good as they were last term again. Surely. 

Mason Greenwood - Marseille 

Marseille are hoping to make some noise this year and one way to do it is by adding Mason Greenwood to your ranks. 

The 22-year-old completed a £30million transfer from Manchester United to the French side, who endured a tumultuous campaign last term and finished well short of their expectations in eighth. 

Greenwood had a decent year on loan at Getafe last season, scoring 10 goals and providing six assists in 36 games in all competitions. But, in truth, Marseille need far more production from the attacker. 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had 38 goal contributions last season but he has departed for Saudi Arabia. New boss Roberto De Zerbi will be desperate for Greenwood to fill the void. 

Fikayo Tomori - AC Milan 

One would imagine that Fikayo Tomori jumped for joy when his phone pinged to inform him that Southgate had decided to resign as England boss. The AC Milan defender failed to win over the former Three Lions manager despite his exploits in Italy. 

Two years on from winning Serie A, Tomori is at something of a crossroads. The Rossoneri have a new manager at the helm and the Englishman is coming off his most frustrating campaign. 

Still, he has started Milan's final three pre-season matches and if he can stay injury-free in this campaign, it is highly likely he'll get the chance to add to his five international caps. 

Ruben Loftus-Cheek - AC Milan 

Ruben Loftus-Cheek will also relish the opportunity in England's managerial change. The 28-year-old has 10 international caps to his name, including four at the 2018 World Cup. 

The dominant midfielder feels right at home in Serie A, with a technical skillset on par with some of the division's best and physical profile few can match. 

He scored six goals and registered two assists for Milan last year as they finished a distance second to bitter rivals Inter, but second nonetheless. The Italian top-flight has been the continent's last bastion of unpredictability in recent seasons. 

No team has defended the crown since Juventus in 2020. The Old Lady will be a force again with Thiago Motta at the helm, while Inter will be no pushovers so Milan will need Loftus-Cheek at his best to topple their rivals.  

Andy Carroll - Amiens 

Andy Caroll made the bold decision to move to French second division outfit Amiens after his time with Reading in the Championship ended last summer. His first season in Ligue 2 was nothing to write home about. 

Four goals in 33 appearances in all competitions wouldn't have set many pulses racing at the Stade de la Licorne. But, come on, Andy Carroll in the second tier of French football is channelling that now rarely seen polar bear in a urban landscape energy. 

The 36-year-old told Mail Sport last year: 'I wanted a challenge. A challenge in a completely different country. A fresh start. I spoke to my agent and said, “Get me a club abroad”. I came here and it was the one.'

Amiens get their league season underway against Red Star on Friday night. Where UK fans can watch it given the state of French football's TV contracts is anyone's guess, unfortunately. 

Marcus Edwards - Sporting CP

The former Tottenham winger and his Sporting colleagues have already begun the defence of the title. Ruben Amorim's men secured a 3-1 in their league opener against Rio Ave last week. 

There was no goal or assist for the 25-year-old on that occasion but Marcus Edwards remains a crucial cog in the Portuguese manager's machine. Edwards is still waiting to receive his first call-up to the senior England team and the prospect of earning it remains a longshot. 

But impressive performances in the Champions League and continued excellence in Portugal could see him get a bit more attention than he's had in previous years. 

Jesse Lingard - Seoul FC 

While the other players in this list have either been putting their feet up or playing in international competition this summer, JLingz has had a domestic campaign to contend with. 

The former Manchester United and West Ham favourite joined the Korean outfit Seoul FC in February, having been without a club for eight months. Lingard is the most high-profile player in K-League history but his performances to date have been less than spectacular. 

Granted, injuries have certainly played a factor in his uninspiring numbers. They currently read two goals in 14 goals, with a total of 13 games missed due to knee and hamstring problems. 

Seoul are still very much in the hunt for success this term, with the top six finishers advancing to post-season play-offs after the 33-game regular season. With seven games left to play, Seoul sit sixth in the league, just one point ahead of Gwangju in seventh.  

Tammy Abraham - Roma 

Tammy Abraham will no doubt be among the most excited players on this list ahead of the new campaign after fully recovering from a nasty cruciate injury sustained in the final game of the 2022-23 season. 

That issue meant he featured only eight times for Roma in the league last season, with none of them being starts. Before the injury, things had gone a little stale for the former Chelsea striker in the Italian capital. 

His debut season yielded 17 league goals compared to just eight in 38 in the following campaign. But the landscape has changed since he's been away. 

Jose Mourinho, who brought him to the club, has departed, Daniele De Rossi is the boss now. In have come the likes of Tommaso Baldanzi, Paulo Dybala and Artem Dovbyk. 

Abraham's first and considerable task will be to earn back his place in the starting XI. 

Chris Smalling - Roma 

Unfortunately, it's a similar tale for Chris Smalling in the Italian capital. The 34-year-old's last campaign was ravaged by a tendonitis issue, which contributed to him making only eight appearances in the league. 

Smalling's contract with the Giallorossi expires next summer and there are reports the club are looking to cash in now, with buyers sought in Saudi Arabia.  

Jordan Henderson - Ajax

Speaking of Saudi Arabia, Jordan Henderson's short-lived stint in the Gulf State essentially ruined all that he built during his career. The goodwill at very least. A former Liverpool captain, who lifted every major trophy in a stunning period for the Reds is now looking to rehabilitate his image at another one of Europe's most iconic clubs. 

The Amsterdam club were a basket case last season and that's putting it nicely. Among their many horrors was a 6-0 defeat by bitter rivals Feyenoord in April which contributed to a fifth-place finish. Fifth! 

This term, Francesco Farioli has come in as boss after an impressive season at Nice. Henderson appears to be in the new boss's plans, having started four of their five games so far this term. 

Time will tell whether his paltry 17 minutes in Ajax's Eredivisie opener is the norm or an anomaly. 

Steven Gerrard - Al-Ettifaq

Steven Gerrard led his Al-Ettifaq side to a respectable sixth-place finish in his debut season with the club. Although, that doesn't tell the whole picture. His side were amassed half the points of runaway winners Al-Hilal, meaning they were far closer to the drop than even challenging for the title. 

This term, the Liverpool legend has a familiar face in the dugout as ex-Reds goalkeeping coaching John Achterberg joins his coaching staff. 

In terms of transfers, the only incoming from outside the Saudi Pro League has been goalkeeper Marek Rodak from Fulham.  It's hard to see Al-Ettifaq doing anything of note in the upcoming campaign, the league's big hitters are a world away when it comes to investment and overall appeal.