When Sunderland were on the ropes during those fraught early stages at Wembley last month – when the prospect of promotion seemed to be dimming by the minute and Sheffield United looked to be grappling themselves into the ascendency – there were a couple of members of Regis Le Bris’ starting XI who kept their heads regardless.
One was the superb Anthony Patterson between the sticks, and the other – shuttling and ricocheting his way around the engine room like a man who had decided before a ball had even been kicked that he simply was not losing that afternoon – was Jobe Bellingham.
For a long while, there have been accusations from those who don’t watch Sunderland on a weekly basis that Bellingham is an overhyped beneficiary of footballing nepotism; a decent talent, but not a particularly special one – and certainly one living off the cultural cache of a family name that has been dragged into the limelight by his elder brother in recent seasons.
Anybody who has taken the time to witness his progress in a red and white shirt, however, would be quick to correct those misconceptions. As speculation continues to gather pace over a transfer that would take Jobe from the Stadium of Light to Borussia Dortmund this summer, feelings on Wearside surrounding his anticipated exit are likely to be mixed. On the one hand, it is hard to begrudge such an obvious young talent the opportunity to further his career at one of the grandest clubs in European football, and a hefty transfer fee could vastly improve Sunderland’s own prospects in the transfer market over the coming weeks and months. On the other, Bellingham’s departure would undoubtedly leave a gaping hole in the heart of Le Bris’ team.
According to the statisticians at Whoscored, only Trai Hume recorded a higher average match rating than the England youth international for Sunderland over the course of the 2024/25 campaign, and of those members of the Black Cats’ squad who featured five or more times during their promotion push, Bellingham ranks in the top five for tackles made, successful passes, key passes, aerial duels contested, and accumulated xG.
In other words, the midfielder has been one of Sunderland’s most well-rounded performers in recent times, and his contribution in the centre of the park has been massively advantageous to the Black Cats in their bid to finally seal a return to the Premier League.
The armchair pundits and the naysayers might cast their aspersions, but the EFL doesn’t hand out its Championship Young Player of the Season award based on who your brother is, and those who are fortunate enough to see Bellingham in action on the regular can attest that he is in possession of a sizeable potential.
Indeed, a quick comparison between his numbers for the season just ended and Jude Bellingham’s final campaign in England before he himself made the move to Dortmund would seem to suggest that the teenager is very much on track to emulate his sibling. Compared to Jude’s output in 2019/20, Jobe’s pass completion rate is 12.6% higher, his duel win ratio is 4.6% higher, and his dribble success rate is 1.7% higher, as per Wyscout.
It is not difficult to understand, therefore, why Borussia Dortmund are so keen to see if they can repeat the success that they had when luring Jude Bellingham to Germany all those years ago. But as positive as the move could be for the Bundesliga giants, and as inevitable a next step as it may be in the personal development of Jobe, make no mistake, his exit – should it happen – will sting an awful lot from a Sunderland perspective.
The stats that prove how much Sunderland will miss Jobe Bellingham if he seals Borussia Dortmund transfer
