OPPOSITION VIEW: JOBE BELLINGHAM
As we all know by now we have signed Jude Bellingham’s younger brother, Jobe, from Birmingham City. We decided to speak with @HGTXBCFC advocate Claire Giblin for the lowdown on the 17 year old. [HASHTAG]#SAFC[/HASHTAG] [HASHTAG]#BCFC[/HASHTAG]
Of course everyone is drawing comparisons between Jobe and his older brother, is there an element of too much pressure on the 17 year old?
I think that whenever you’ve got a family member who has had the career like Jude has they will always be compared. There is a lot of pressure from the outside for him to be like his brother and the expectation is huge for him. At Blues, we knew they were similar but Jude shone at the age of 16.
With all these comparisons in mind, is Jobe similar to how Jude was when he was at Birmingham before he left for Dortmund?
He’s got the potential to be a very good player. However, when Jude went to Dortmund he had already cemented his place in our first team and was playing regularly whilst Jobe has been a bit part player for us over the last season. You can see there are similarities but Jude was outstanding for us.
What is Jobe’s best position/attribute?
Jobe’s best position would be centre mid. He’s good on the ball. He creates space for himself and can see a pass.
How good is he? And how good CAN he be in the future?
For his age he is a good player. I wish he had had more time and minutes at the Blues. I believe he could play in the Premiership. It depends if he can handle the pressure of his brother’s success and become his own person.
Are you sad to see him go?
I am sad to see him go. However, if someone wants to leave and believes that another club is better than the Blues then they can go.
Will he fit into Sunderland's squad straight away or do you think he'll be loaned out?
I think he needs to play more minutes which he was starting to get at Blues. I can’t see why he would have left us, to then be loaned out, as he was in our squad getting game time at Championship level. I think it will take time for him to adjust to a new team and ethos.
Good luck Jobe!