Last season, Jobe Bellingham was almost an ever present in the side that finally brought us Premier League football. It was a joy to watch him play and develop as the season progressed.
There was never
any doubt about his commitment to the cause, he was a critical cog in our midfield and he left some outstanding memories – Swansea probably being the most evocative.
I was one of those who hoped that we would get one season where we were able to see him wearing our famous colours in the Premier League but it wasn’t to be. Within days of the triumph at Wembley, Team Bellingham were engineering a move to Borussia Dortmund, the team where his brother had really come to prominence, before he joined the Galacticos of Real Madrid.
It immediately seemed a strange move. From the moment he arrived at Sunderland, this was a young man who appeared determined not to live in the shadow of his older brother. He chose to join an English side after cutting his teeth at Birmingham, rather than move abroad as Jude had done. He made his intentions to distance himself from his brother’s path clear by opting not to have the family name on the back of his shirt, but choosing to wear his forename instead.
Everything about his development appeared geared to ploughing his own furrow. The decision to move to Borussia Dortmund was a complete step away from the apparent determination to write his own story.
There is no doubt that his family links have always played a pivotal role in both players progression, and the presence of both Kristjaan Speakman and Mike Dodds, who had overseen the development of both brothers at Birmingham, clearly influenced Jobe’s decision to join Sunderland.
Those same family links appear to have informed his decision to forego the prospect of Premier League football in favour of the Bundesliga and European football. Unfortunately, reports coming out of Germany suggest that all is not well in the camp, and that Jobe may be looking for an exit from what has been an unhappy time thus far.
Inevitably, given his playing and familial links to Sunderland, there has been some speculation about the prodigal son returning to the club where he enjoyed such success.
As romantic as that idea may be, the page has turned on that period of the club’s history. In May, there could have been few more appealing prospects than seeing Jobe, in our red and white, testing himself against the best that the Premier League has to offer.
But circumstances have overtaken that scenario. The summer recruitment has reshaped our squad beyond all recognition. As good as he may be, Jobe would now be competing just to earn a place on the bench. If he is unhappy with the game time that he is being afforded in Germany, he will not be guaranteed any more time in the Premier League with Sunderland.
Whatever the speculation may be, I cannot see a situation where we will see the name ‘Jobe’ on the back of a Sunderland shirt in the foreseeable future.
