Who is Jobe Bellingham and could he be even better than his brother Jude?
- Matt Whiley
- 18 February 2022
Birmingham City fans might currently be disillusioned with the running of their club, but there is one area they can take a great deal of pride in – their youth academy.
Fresh from producing one of the most exciting English midfielders in a generation in Jude Bellingham, now of Borussia Dortmund, there is another intriguing name coming through.
What's more, he's rather well known to Jude, too.
The player - or in fact, 16-year-old boy - in question is Jude's younger brother Jobe, who also plays in midfield, and is already on the fringes of Blues' first team despite his tender age.
Planet Sport brings you all you need to know about Jobe Bellingham.
Jobe Bellingham's early years
Jobe was born in September 2005 in Stourbridge, a town in England's West Midlands around 15 miles from Birmingham City's home ground of St Andrew's. He is the second son of Denise and prolific non-league forward Mark Bellingham, being born a little over two years after his elder brother Jude.
He joined Birmingham's academy in his primary school days and became a member of the club's under-18 side in July 2021, despite only being 15 years old.
Style of play
Where Jude has cemented a position in the deep areas of midfield, one of the major reasons Jobe has so many people even more excited is his ability to play across multiple positions. He has played in his preferred position of attacking midfielder on six occasions in age-group matches for Blues, but has also taken on left winger and centre-forward roles in the past.
He has an exceptional passing range, boasting 100% accuracy in the short few minutes he has played for Birmingham's first team in the Championship this season. He also has a keen eye for goal and in his nine appearances for the club's under-18s, has hit five goals.
Birmingham academy
Having risen up through Blues' academy at Wast Hills, to the south of the city - and only ten miles from his birthplace - Jobe became a fully-fledged member of the club's under-18 side in July last year. He has since played ten matches for that side - nine in the U18 Premier League and one in the FA Youth Cup - and scored five goals.
Blues' under-18s have not enjoyed a particularly memorable season, but the undoubted highlight of Jobe's time with the side was a 3-2 victory over Tottenham in late August last year, when he completed a turnaround from 2-1 down to net the winning goal in the 89th minute.
Jobe has also made six appearances for Birmingham's under-23s in Premier League 2, mostly off the bench, although he has started in recent games against a pair of local rivals in Aston Villa and West Brom. He registered his first under-23 assist in the latter and also completed his first 90 minutes for the under-23s in a recent 3-1 home defeat to Fulham.
First team recognition
Elder brother Jude received his maiden call-up to Blues' first team at the age of 16 years and 38 days, which made him the club's youngest player ever. Jobe has proven similarly precocious and made his first-team bow at 16 years and 107 days, coming off the bench after 70 minutes of a 1-0 FA Cup defeat to Plymouth last month.
The next chapter.#bcfc | @j_bellingham pic.twitter.com/reGijvPWlx
— iamjbohemia (@iamjbohemia) January 8, 2022
He went on to make his league debut a week later, as he again came off the bench to play the final seven minutes of a 1-1 draw away to Preston. He had been an unused substitute in the league twice before that and has featured on the bench again on four further occasions since.
The future
#BCFC x @UHBCharity 👌💙
— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) August 15, 2020
We have donated the sponsorship of our academy sides and junior replica kits to our charity partner. pic.twitter.com/HCIRfneRN5
Jobe is so highly thought of at Birmingham that the club utilised his profile, even when he was only 15, to launch their 2021/22 kit. Naturally, the hype around Jude has contributed to the increased focus on Jobe, but you don't get those kinds of opportunities without some serious ability.
England have also come calling. He was given his very first opportunity with the national team at under-15 level in February 2020, when he played 90 minutes in a 3-0 friendly defeat to Belgium at St George's Park. Following on from that, he has since risen to the under-17 level, playing seven matches.
Of those seven, four have been friendlies, with three qualifying matches for the under-17 European Championships, due to be held in Israel this summer. Jobe registered his first international assist in a 7-0 win over Armenia in October. England topped their first qualifying group to make it through to the elite group stage, which will take place in March and sees the Three Lions face France, Russia, and Luxembourg.
Elder brother Jude has already won the DFB-Pokal with Borussia Dortmund and is rapidly continuing to develop as one of Europe's hottest prospects. Yet, if Jobe, still not yet even old enough to sign a professional contract, continues on his current path, we may still see the two brothers from Stourbridge go all the way to the very top.
