Jobe Bellingham following brother's path but wants 'own identity'

A star in the Birmingham City academy, impressing in the Championship, then a big-money move to Bundesliga heavyweights Borussia Dortmund; Jobe Bellingham's career is following a very similar path to that of his older brother Jude.

Jobe recently helped Sunderland win promotion to the Premier League - but the 19-year-old midfielder won't be playing in the English top flight next season.

Instead, in an agreement worth up to £31m, he will join eight-time German champions Dortmund, who finished fourth in 2024-25 to secure a Champions League place.

He will become Dortmund's second-most expensive signing after Ousmane Dembele in 2016 and Sunderland's record sale.

Dortmund is a club the Bellinghams know extremely well after Jude's successful spell there. He was only 17 when the German side paid Birmingham City an initial fee of £25m to sign him in July 2020. It proved to be a bargain.

Jude made 132 appearances over a three-year stint at Signal Iduna Park, winning the DFB Pokal in 2021.

He narrowly missed out on the Bundesliga title as a knee injury meant he was an unused substitute when they drew with Mainz on the final day of the 2022-23 season. Victory would have made them champions for the first time in 11 years.

Jude was named Bundesliga Player of the Season, and within months had joined Real Madrid for an initial £88.5m. He helped Real win the Champions League and La Liga in his first season, and the Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Intercontinental Cup in his second.

Jobe has a lot to live up to.

Though Jobe is following in his brother's footsteps by joining Dortmund, he wears his first name on the back of his shirt as he aims to create his own headlines.

"He doesn't want to live off the back of his brother's name; he wants to be the footballer he is and show people what he can do. He's trying to create his own identity," said former Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray in 2023.

While Jude operates largely as a number 10 - behind the main striker - for club and country, Jobe can play as a defensive or box-to-box midfielder.

In his first season at the Stadium of Light he even deputised as a central forward, although he has maintained his best position is in the middle of the park.

"I know playing box-to-box is what I enjoy the most, because you can get stuck in and drive forward," he told Sky Sports., external "I can show more of what I'm capable of in that position."

In the 2024-25 season, he played 43 times for Sunderland, scoring four goals and registering three assists.

"He's still a young player with the ability to play many different roles," said Sunderland boss Regis le Bris earlier this season.

"I like him as a number eight because he's an offensive midfielder. He can express his power, his ability to run and his ability to press, to link defence and attack."

Former Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini believes moving to Germany will be a positive for Jobe.

"The Bundesliga is somewhere between the Championship and the Premier League," said BBC Radio Newcastle pundit Gabbiadini.

"It's a way of stepping up, maybe a little bit of less pressure. There are some financial advantages of going abroad as well."

Jobe was 17 when he moved to Sunderland from Birmingham for an undisclosed fee - on the same day Jude completed his move to Real Madrid.

"It was a bit of a surprise when he came to Sunderland," added Gabbiadini. "Not because we weren't a big enough club, but because he was such a hot talent.

"Birmingham were in a similar position to us in the league, it wasn't a massive step up at that stage.

"He's been very good for us. Do I think he's as good as his brother? Not from what I've seen so far, but there is nothing wrong with that.

"If he's 80% as good as his brother, he will still be a very good footballer. So in some respects, let it be, let it progress as he wants."

Jobe and Jude were both born in Stourbridge in the West Midlands and came through Birmingham's academy.

But could they be reunited on the pitch in England shirts in the future?

Jude made his England debut four months after joining Dortmund and has already won 43 caps, scoring six times and reaching the final of the European Championship in 2021 and 2024.

Just as Jude did, Jobe has represented England at various youth levels, and has been named in the Young Lions' squad for the European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, external in September, Jude said he hoped Jobe could soon join him in a full England squad.

"Because we're of a similar age and we've played together for so long - in the street and on tufts of grass - to play with my brother for England... that would be the biggest dream of my life," said Jude.

"That would mean more than any of the trophies, especially if we managed to do it on a consistent basis and play at a major tournament together, win things together. Nothing would even get close to that."

And Jude believes his own success will help motivate his younger brother.

"He has to deal with more than I would have had to at his age, and he deals with it with so much class," he said.

"He wants to try to create his own legacy and his own path. People will use him as a way to have a dig at me and vice-versa, so we're almost like each other's biggest fans but also the biggest target for each other because we care about each other so much.

"As long as he's happy, that's all I really care about. His happiness means more to me than my own."

Although Jobe has been named in England's squad for this summer's European Under-21 Championship, if his move to Dortmund is completed by 10 June he could spend the next month playing in the Club World Cup instead.

The 32-team tournament is being held in the United States from 14 June to 13 July.

Dortmund have been drawn in Group F, along with Fluminense of Brazil, Ulsan HD of South Korea and South African side Mamelodi Sundowns.

Real Madrid are in Group H, with Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia, Pachuca of Mexico and Austrian team Red Bull Salzburg.

If both Dortmund and Real win their respective groups and last-16 ties, they would meet in the quarter-finals on 5 July.

Jobe could then face his big brother for the first time in a competitive match and have the chance to really make a name for himself.