The exciting comparisons between Sunderland's Jobe and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham

Jobe has had a successful start to his Sunderland career following his move from Birmingham in the summer, with a number of European clubs already sniffing around for his signature.

Very early into his time at the club, he dropped the name ‘Bellingham’ from the back of his shirt as he wanted his career to be his own and not be known as ‘Jude Bellingham’s brother’.

Jude was in Birmingham's first team at the age of just 16, before making a career changing move to join Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund a year later for £25m; making him the most expensive 17-year-old in history. He continued to shine, this time abroad and spent three seasons in Germany, not only earning him his first senior England cap in 2020 but also attracting interest from footballing giants Real Madrid where he would eventually join for an astounding base fee of £88m in 2023.

Jude has continued to develop at a remarkably fast rate into what many would now rightfully perceive as a ‘world class’ player, finishing 18th in the 2023 Ballon D’Or rankings. However, both players at an early age were/are established first teamers in the Championship and the comparisons that arise from that make for both interesting and certainly exciting reading for Sunderland supporters.

So far this season, Jobe has notched five goals and registered one assist in 30 appearances. The same number of contributions Jude Bellingham achieved during the 19/20 season in an additional 14 games.

The excitement only grows from there though with Jobe seemingly outshining his brother in a number of other key areas. Courtesy of SAFC Analytics, the stats from this season shows that Jobe excels in many other areas of the game outside of just goals and assists.

One of which is his % of defensive duels won. Jobe stated during his arrival that his best position is as a box-to-box midfielder and his performances of late back that up. Jobe has won 62.2% of his defensive duels this season, in comparison to Jude’s 60% during his short spell in the Championship.

With his big frame and excellent work rate, it should come as no surprise that Jobe is capable of doing the dirty work off the ball. Another key area that Jobe has performed outstandingly in this season is his ability to get his team moving forward with his passing ability.

The young midfielder boasts an outstanding 87.6% pass accuracy with balls into the final third. An attribute which has been key to Sunderland’s offensive play this season and moreover, getting the ball into their main attacking threat, Jack Clarke.

In comparison, Jude recorded a significantly lower 59.4% accuracy in the same area during his time at Birmingham. One thing for certain is that with his current rate of development, Jobe will go on to have a very successful career of his own.