Dion Sanderson has admitted he was surprised by Jobe Bellingham after Sunderland’s win over Birmingham City.
As per The Northern Echo, Sanderson admitted it was ‘good’ to see his former teammate succeeding at the Stadium of Light.
Since enjoying a brilliant loan spell with Sunderland during the 2020-21 season, Dion Sanderson went onto sign for Birmingham City on loan the following year and eventually joined the club permanently in the summer.
Sanderson spent recent years playing alongside Jobe Bellingham, with the teenager forcing his way into the Blues’ first team during the 2022-23 campaign.
Jobe eventually made the bold decision to move to Wearside this season and has since started all 16 games in the Championship, netting three goals.
The 18-year-old hadn’t scored since bagging a brace against Rotherham United in August, but he was first on the scoresheet against his old club as Sunderland came out 3-1 winners at the weekend.
While Birmingham fans were left feeling very bitter about Jobe’s exit, Dion Sanderson has wished the youngster good luck and admitted that he didn’t expect him to score on Saturday.
“It was good to see Jobe. It’s good to see him here and I wish him all the best. I didn’t expect him to score to be honest, but fair play to him,” Sanderson said.
“That (the move) was his decision he made himself, that he wanted to play first-team football. He is more than capable of that, and he is finding that here. Good luck to him.”
Sanderson has his own links to Sunderland, having spent the majority of the 2020-21 season on loan at the Stadium of Light from Wolves.
When will Jobe Bellingham get his much-needed rest?
Tony Mowbray had made it very clear that Jobe Bellingham was in need of a rest earlier this month, however he has started both games since.
With Sunderland’s next game against Plymouth Argyle not for another eleven days, I hope the Black Cats boss isn’t now regarding this as his ‘break’.
While Jobe won’t be sporting the red and white, the midfielder could feature in up to three international fixtures over the next month.
England U19s will travel to Marbella to take on Romania, Japan and Mexico during the international break, with the last game taking place a week today.
While Jobe really impressed against Birmingham, it will be baffling if he is picked from the start against Plymouth next week. Sunderland have ready made replacements in Alex Pritchard and Bradley Dack on the pitch, so Mowbray needs to follow up with what he has already said and give him a good rest.