Sunderland boss reacts to Jobe Bellingham international call and explains key to his impressive form

Régis Le Bris has welcomed Jobe Bellingham's first call up the England U21 squad and says it is a deserved reward for his excellent start to the campaign.

The selection also have an obvious benefit for Sunderland in helping the youngster maintain his match fitness amid his ongoing suspension. Le Bris believes the 19-year-old is benefiting from his stable position in midfield this season.

“We’ll see, I don’t know the plan of the coach, but it would be good for us if he could have some minutes," Le Bris said.

"He deserves to have this reward because he has played very well so far this season. It should be a good experience for him.

“He is very young, but he has shown good consistency. We have tried to find a stable position for him, and the repetition of experiences, game after game, has been useful to stabilise his role. He is learning all the different tasks he is having to manage during a game, and during different games. I think he has improved many things in his game. He still has a huge potential to discover, but so far, he has done very well.

“He played once as a six, at Portsmouth, and then he has played an eight in two different positions really, as a six out of possession but then also as one of the players further forward," he added.

"When he has been in possession, though, he has always been playing as an eight. I think that is a good place for him because he can run in behind, he can play in the triangle, he can shoot, he can score and he can defend and press. He can do many things. He is the complete player, with a huge potential to discover. I know that the consistency, and trying to affect the game even more, is the key for him. He wants to improve every day. His standards are high, and sometimes his emotions are high too, but he has managed his performance very well so far."

Bellingham served the first of this three-game suspension at Preston North End on Wednesday, and opted to join the Sunderland fans in the away end. Le Bris said the youngster enjoyed seeing the game from a different perspective and even had some tactical feedback afterwards.

“The connection with the fans is very important for us, and I think he is aware of that," Le Bris said.

"In the stands, it probably allowed him to feel something different and see things from a new perspective. That could be very useful for the future. He told us this morning that he felt the structure wasn’t so good, so it was a new perspective for him, a good perspective, probably as a coach.

“The feedback was good. I want the best possible culture for them. If they can have a good culture, then they can assess the game and, on the pitch, it will be easier to understand the problems and to react and solve the problems in real time. They need that culture."