Player profile: Who is Jobe Bellingham?
Player profile: Who is Jobe Bellingham?
By Tom Masters
The name Bellingham is one that immediately catches people’s attention after Jude’s incredible start to professional football, which saw him earn a £25m move to Borussia Dortmund from boyhood club Birmingham City aged 17.
His rise since then has seen him become the second-youngest goalscorer in Champions League knockout history and win the first of seemingly many England caps.
Pressure then is on Jude’s younger brother Jobe, who at just 16 made his Championship debut for Birmingham in the 1-1 draw against Preston last week, to begin the journey of following in his sibling's footsteps.
Bellingham senior seemingly came out of nowhere when making his Championship debut at Swansea in August 2019, and just 14 months later he was playing Champions League football, showing Jobe the pathway is there.
What has he achieved so far?
Jobe operates as a right winger, unlike his elder brother who is a central midfielder, which means he will be looked at differently, with scoring and creating goals his bread and butter.
In the U18 Premier League, Jobe has proven he is capable of doing this, scoring five goals in eight matches which was enough to convince coaches that he was ready for the next stage - making his Premier League U23 debut in August 2021, before going on to make his first start in December against Aston Villa.
That prompted his inclusion in Birmingham’s FA Cup squad for their third-round clash against Plymouth, coming off the bench to play 50 minutes as the game went into extra time.
A week later, he made his Championship debut, a seven-minute cameo off the bench at Deepdale Stadium where he made an immediate impact - helping set up a late equaliser by weaving past two Preston challenges and teeing up teammate Ryan Woods for a cross that Scott Hogan headed in.
Now, he will be hoping to take the next step, a first Championship start and a goal.
Where does he go from here?
The first thing that Jobe will be wanting to do is shake off the tag of being “Jude Bellingham’s brother” and become a name in the footballing world in his own right.
It has been a very promising start for him, making his Championship debut at just 16 years, 3 months and 23 days - only two months later than Jude and becoming the 14th-youngest player to do so.
In the short term, his goals are simple, become a focal part of the Birmingham side and make the right-wing jersey his own.
If he can do that, it won’t be long before Europe’s top clubs come knocking as they did for Jude, although whether Jobe can make such an immediate impact that his shirt number is retired by the Blues while he's still a teenager remains to be seen.