Sunderland midfielder named as best player of the season so far by EFL pundit - but it's not Chris Rigg

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One pundit has named which Sunderland player has shone throughout the first two months of the Championship season.

Jobe Bellingham has been identified as Sunderland’s best player of the season after producing a match-winning display in the midweek win against Derby County.

The former Birmingham City youngster has played an integral role in helping Regis Le Bris enjoy an overwhelmingly positive start to his reign at the Stadium of Light. A return of one goal and one assist don’t really tell the story of Bellingham’s impact during the first two months of his second season on Wearside - and Le Bris has left no doubt over how highly he rates the versatile midfielder after naming him in his starting eleven in all eight Championship fixtures.

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Speaking last month, he said: "He is still a young player with the ability to play a number of different roles, but I like him as an eight because I think as an offensive midfielder he can express his power, his ability to run, his ability to press, his ability to make the link between defence and attack. He is very linked with our left triangle with Dennis (Cirkin) and Romaine (Mundle), so I think that could be his position, but because he is young he has a big potential with many elements to develop, so we can be surprised by other qualities. For me, his best position is as an offensive midfielder on the left side, but we will see over the season if he is able to develop other sides.”

After starting his season with an assist in the opening day win at Cardiff City, Bellingham has continued to provide an energetic presence in the heart of Le Bris’ side and he continued to shine in the midweek win over Derby County. After going close with an early header, Bellingham finally got off the mark for the season with a stunning long-range effort that laid the foundations for a 2-0 home victory that lifted his side back to the top of the Championship table.

His goal and performance led one pundit to name Bellingham as Sunderland’s best player over the first two months of the season, despite conceding several of his team-mates have also been singled out.

As per Second Tier Podcast on X, EFL Pundit Ryan Dilks said: “They (Sunderland) went ahead (against Derby County) through a screamer by Jobe Bellingham, an absolute cracker it was. Over the course of Sunderland’s great start, we’ve singled out several of their players, but I think Bellingham has been their best player so far this season. This goal tops off what a brilliant start he’s had this season.”

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