Jobe Bellingham has the toughest of tasks following in his brother Jude’s footsteps at Birmingham and boss Lee Bowyer is calling for calm… but at just 16, he already looks at home in the first team – and Dortmund are keeping a close eye too!
- Jobe Bellingham has made two first team appearances for Birmingham at just 16
- He’s trying to follow in the footsteps of his brother, Borussia Dortmund’s Jude
- Sportsmail understands Dortmund have been following Jobe’s progression
- He is unable to sign a professional contract until he turns 17 in September
- Blues boss Lee Bowyer called for calm amid comparisons between the brothers
With a mural near St Andrew’s dedicated to him and the No22 shirt retired in his honour when he joined Borussia Dortmund, Jude Bellingham is a tough act for any Birmingham player to follow – let alone his younger brother.
Jobe Bellingham does not turn 17 until September but has already played for the first team twice this season and often trains with Lee Bowyer’s senior squad.
Certain figures around the first team believe Jobe’s technical qualities to be at least as impressive as those who play regularly for Blues in the Championship. Whereas Jude has made his name as a dynamic, all-purpose midfielder, at this stage Jobe appears most at home in the No 10 role, where his vision and creativity can be given free rein.
Jobe Bellingham (right) has already made two first team appearances for Birmingham at just 16
Borussia Dortmund have been following Jobe’s progress but he can’t sign pro deal until he’s 17
The interesting part for Jobe is what comes next. Sportsmail understands Dortmund have been following his progress, though he is not able to sign professional terms with a club until the age of 17.
It would be unfair, however, to measure the younger Bellingham’s progress against that of the elder one. Because by 16, Jude had reached a level very few players can attain, establishing himself as one of the best players outside the Premier League before he was old enough to turn professional, and attracting the attention of the best clubs in Europe.
Jude made 37 senior appearances for Blues before his 17th birthday and signed for Dortmund in the summer 2020 for £30million. He is now one of the best in his role in Europe. Set against those numbers, virtually every teenage footballer would be found wanting. Jobe has already done well to play two senior matches when he is still at school.
‘These next two or three years are really important for him,’ Bowyer said last November. ‘Is he going to be a good player? We believe so.
Jude Bellingham has become one of the world’s best midfielders despite his young age
Jude’s number 22 shirt was retired to ‘remember one of our own and to inspire others’
Birmingham boss Lee Bowyer has called for calm amid comparisons between the two brothers
‘It’s not fair on him, whenever he steps on the pitch now everyone is going to expect him to be like his brother. Don’t do that to the lad. He is going to be his own player, himself.
‘You can’t expect him to do the same things as what his brother is doing. He needs to fill out, he needs to get stronger but they’re two completely different players.
‘He isn’t going to do what his brother did – not now. He is learning the game. Will he become a regular first-team player in a year or two? We don’t know. It’s about how he develops.’