Dave Jones claims Sunderland sensation could one day be 'Ballon d'Or contender'

Sky Sports host and Sunderland non-executive director Dave Jones has claimed that he sees no reason as to why Jobe Bellingham couldn’t one day become a Ballon d’Or contender.

The teenage midfielder has been sublime form for the Black Cats this season, and has established himself as a key member of Regis Le Bris’ starting XI on Wearside. Indeed, his performances have been so eye-catching that various reports have linked him with a prospective move to German giants Borussia Dortmund in the near future - a club where elder sibling Jude first set out his stall on the continental stage.

And while Jobe is still some way off reaching his brother’s level of international acclaim, Jones believes that the precocious talent has a massive career ahead of him. Speaking on the Not The Top 20 podcast, he said: “I don't see why he couldn't be a Ballon d'Or contender. I wouldn't actually put any obstacles in the way of Jobe Bellingham.

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“I think this is a young lad, of course, who came to us with a big reputation, but almost in the shadow of his brother. I think everyone can see that his brother has had this extraordinary early development, but that shouldn't detract from what people think about Jobe, who is his own player, hence you see it on the back of his shirt.

“His development is way beyond expectation. I think we have seen at Sunderland how different he's been from one season to the next. He's still only 19, so who's to say that in a year's time he might have gone up another couple of levels? A year after that, he's gone up another couple of levels? He's shown a versatility that I think people weren't aware of. He played up front last season, he also played 10, he also played eight, and now we've seen him play six this season and have that more disciplined role. He can do all of it.

“I don't think there's anything stopping Jobe going right to the very top of the game. From my experience of working with people like Graeme Souness and Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville, players who played hundreds of football matches at the elite level, the one thing that unites all of those people as individuals is their character, and it's their heart and it's their brain and it's their willingness to push themselves beyond the norm, beyond everyone else in their peer group.

“We see this every single week with Jobe, but not just Jobe. That's the beauty of some of those names. Just in terms of our midfield, when you think about the generational talent that you mentioned, Chris Rigg and Dan Neil as well, who's still only 22 and our captain who's played now a couple of hundred games of EFL football, they share those qualities. So we are so lucky, but also they've been lucky to have a platform that we've given them. I think it's a two-way street, but I'm not putting any limits on Jobe as an individual.”