IT’S A tough act following in the footsteps of Jude Bellingham – especially if you’re his younger brother.
But fellow midfielder Jobe, 19, is already showing signs that he can also reach the top and perhaps play alongside his sibling in the future as he continues to shine at Sunderland.
The pair, who both came up through Birmingham’s academy, are well protected and grounded thanks to their upbringing.
Their characters are said to have been moulded by mum Denise and his father – a former West Midlands Police Officer.
Mark Bellingham, now a licensed Fifa agent, has taken on the responsibility of guiding the career path of his boys.
And he was also a bit of a baller himself after enjoying a prolific non-league career at the likes of Stourbridge, Leamington, Sutton Coldfield, Bromsgrove Rovers, and Halesowen Town.
However, you will not see Jobe wearing the family surname on the back of his jersey.
He instead says he wants to forge his own identity rather than hang on his brother’s coattails and has decided to have his first name on his shirt instead.
Jude, 21, already has Champions League and LaLiga winners’ medals with Real Madrid and experience of playing at three major international tournaments.
But the big boys are now starting to take notice of the younger Bellingham too, with Dortmund, Arsenal and even Madrid all keen on signing him.
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And despite all of big bruv’s success, Jobe is well on course to achieve one major feat first – playing in the Premier League.
Sunderland are flying high in the chase for promotion and the talented teen is a key part behind that charge.
He is also, statistically, one of the best midfielders in the Championship.
Jobe was deployed as false nine for the majority of the 47 appearances during his first season, scoring seven goals, but it is this season that he has really come into his own playing deeper.
He has recovered the ball 283 times – a huge aspect of Sunderland’s success.
His goal contribution is also impressive, with four goals and three assists to his name.
While Jude is more advanced, Jobe’s profile suggests he is transforming into a more traditional box to box type midfielder who provides value with his defensive work and positioning against the ball.
In fact, you could even make a valid argument that the pair would compliment one another nicely if they lined up together.
Here, tactical nous Chris Beaumont takes a close look at the way that Jobe plays.
Threat in the final third
While it is fair to say that Jobe is not quite as much of an attacking threat as Jude, that does not mean that he does not carry value for Sunderland in the final third.
For a player that is just 19 years old, he is well over 6ft and has a powerful build.
When he does move forward from the midfield and into areas around and about the opposition penalty area then he causes problems with his movement and the timing of his runs into the area.
This is a trait that Jobe shares with his older brother.
While Jude makes more runs that break into the opposition area, Jobe shares the ability to time his runs to maximum effect.
His frame and power make him difficult to defend when he makes late arrivals into the area but he also provides value with his ability to strike the ball with power from distance.
Like in this example below, you can see how Bellingham has worked his way into the penalty area.
He receives the ball in the area and shows awareness to step inside his defender and finish with power past the goalkeeper.
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While Jobe is not as prolific a goalscorer as Jude at this point in his career, this does not mean that he does not carry a threat.
With Jobe typically being positioned deeper as an 8, as opposed to as a 10, we also see him taking up positions around the final third to support the attack.
When his team are attacking and he receives the ball in deeper areas, Jobe Bellingham provides a threat with his ability to split the defence with passes. He can also shoot from range with power.
And everything suggests it is likely that Jobe Bellingham will develop more of a goal threat as he continues in his career.
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LIke this example above, you can see the timing of the run to get into the area from Jobe.
With the ball wide on the right, he times his run from deep to attack an area of space inside the opposition area.
And, as he arrives in the area, he meets the low cross and finishes past the goalkeeper.
Given the difference in their profile, we believe that Jude will always remain the more consistent goalscorer.
However, we would expect Jobe to continue providing value in front of goal in his own way.
Attacking creativity
Jude provides most of his creative output by making runs to create space for others to exploit, but he is also a creative passer in the final third.
He has the ability to thread passes and the vision to notice the movement of teammates as they look to break lines with their forward runs.
It is in this regard that the two Bellingham brothers are perhaps the most similar.
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Jobe typically holds a deeper position than his older brother on the pitch but this makes him more likely to dictate the flow of the game.
He has real passing range to his game with the ability to pick up the ball in deep areas and play longer switches of play to attack space.
He is also a clever passer of the ball, who scans well and takes positive positions in the first instance in order to receive the ball. With his size and strength, he then has the ability to hold off pressure.
Once he has turned he can play longer passes to split lines.
This example below shows Jobe in possession of the ball deep with little pressure, as the opposition are content to sit in a deeper block.
He spots the run to attack space of a team-mate ahead of him and plays a well weighted through ball to release the run.
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Jobe has the ability to play quickly with strong receiving skills allowing him to take the ball before he then looks to break a line or play a pass that creates space or time for team-mates in advanced positions.
However, he does not always opt for the most aggressive option and can be counted on to retain possession when his team needs him to.
This is an area where Jobe starts to separate himself from his older brother.
Jude is a more aggressive and advanced midfielde,r who wants to attack and create danger whenever he has possession of the ball.
Jobe, however, has more of a classic midfielder’s mentality.
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The example above shows a situation where Jobe found a pocket of space and received the ball centrally.
There are a lot of opposition players positioned around the ball but the midfielder has the quality to retain possession and get turned before playing a pass to release a team-mate in space.
There could also be a very real scenario for England in the future that could see Jude making aggressive runs forward and being released by his younger brother playing a deeper role.
Aggression out of possession
Jude is a good player out of possession with an impressive work rate, but Jobe edges it in this regard.
The younger Bellingham is aggressive and committed, making long runs out of possession to engage the opposition high up the pitch and look to pick the pockets of their defenders.
This does, at times, mean that Jobe will get into trouble in terms of conceding fouls and picking up cards.
It is not unusual to see Jobe flying into tackles and defending in a manner that is very aggressive but this is all part of his game.
We have already seen his out of possession work develop to the point that he remains aggressive in pressing but he will look to stay on his feet and force the opposition player back towards his own goal, rather than going to ground easily.
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This example above highlights this as the opposition look to build out from the back with their goalkeeper playing it short into the midfield.
The defender receives an instruction to play wide to avoid pressure but Bellingham follows the ball and makes a strong challenge to regain possession.
Jobe Bellingham is equally comfortable defending from the front and the back.
This is part of the reason I can see the two Bellingham brothers playing together. They want to occupy different areas of the pitch in and out of possession and would actually work together nicely in terms of their profiles.
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In the image above, a pass is played forward from the opposition and into the midfield.
Once again, we can see that Jobe moves up the pitch quickly and gets into position to stop the receiving player from turning and wins the ball himself.
There is little doubt that, even at the younger age, Jobe has the advantage over his older brother in terms of his profile out of possession.
Conclusion
The next step for Jobe is key. Jude’s career took off when he moved from Birmingham to Dortmund and if Jobe decides to leave Sunderland then there will be no shortage of interest in his signature both from England and abroad.
If Sunderland get promoted this season though, there is every chance that Jobe will stay for at least one more year.
And looking further ahead, it is easy to imagine a future where the two Bellingham boys play side by side for both club and country.
