Jobe Bellingham has been praised for the part he played in Sunderland’s recent draw, despite being out injured.
Sunderland were held against Watford to a 2-2 draw, as Regis Le Bris’ side recorded a second tedious stalemate in a row at the Stadium of Light.
The unsatisfactory performance was headed by the lack of service handed towards French forward Wilson Isidor, who was unfortunately fairly passive throughout the game, barring his glimmer of quality at the end to subtly set up Dennis Cirkin inside the box to level up the game.
Going into the interval at 1-1, Sunderland had surprisingly been up against the cosh on several occasions against Tom Cleverley’s side, and this prompted injured midfielder Jobe Bellingham to join his side in the dressing room at half-time, despite watching the game in the stands.
Luke O’Nien reveals what Jobe Bellingham said during Sunderland half time team talk
During the half time team talk at the Stadium of Light, with the scores sat at 1-1 between Sunderland and Watford, the team were joined by Bellingham, who sat out of the clash due to a minor ankle injury.
The England U21 international has been praised for his actions by Luke O’Nien, who has revealed what Bellingham said as he joined the team at half time.
Per Sunderland Echo, Bellingham said: “Listen, Jobe’s a wonderful player. I’m one of his biggest fans, more than his dad. Don’t tell him that. I think Jobe’s wonderful. He’s a wonderful addition. He even comes in at half-time to give his perspective. That’s how much he’s grown into the game. Even though he’s not playing, he’s in at half-time. We’re asking for his perspective on the game because he’s a leader in our team.
“It doesn’t matter how old he is. We look to him for advice. We look to him to lead all the time. He’s stepped into this role really well. I thought Salis did quite well coming in today. Yes, Jobe’s always a big miss, but he’s still part of the team. We’ve got players that came in and did really well today. Milan got some space towards the end, which nearly scored. He looks really dangerous. We’ve just got to keep building.
“I connect to Jobe. He sits higher up, so he gets to see the game from a different perspective. Just little things on how we can shift the momentum, how he sees the game, that we need to change. It’s always important. You want to get different perspectives.
“Sometimes when we’re in the game, it’s really hard to see. So it’s just that connection, seeing what he thinks. Then going, yeah, it could potentially work. But yeah, looking forward to getting him back when we get him back.”
Jobe Bellingham ‘perspective’ shows his incredible maturity for a young player
On the surface, many outsiders may potentially look towards this current crop of Sunderland players and assume that leaders are far and few in the side, something that undoubtedly was a concern last season.
However, age isn’t a clear factor as to whether an individual can galvanise their side, and Bellingham is the clear outlier in that theory, with the 19-year-old having such a strong influence in the dressing room.
The fact that veteran O’Nien, as he is regarded in comparison to Sunderland’s young ranks, is on hand to praise the ‘perspective’ of someone taking charge at just 19-years-old is astonishing, and it highlights just how far Bellingham will go in his career with such an attitude.