Jobe Bellingham made a dramatic return to action for Sunderland this weekend.
The midfielder had his doubters after his debut season on Wearside, but looks set to play a key role this term after opting to stay with the club for at least another year.
Jobe slotted straight into Regis Le Bris‘ first starting line-up and made an immediate impact.
The teenager was awarded a 7 rating by Sunderland Echo after making 43 touches, three key passes, won 81% of duels and made four tackles.
It was Jobe’s superb challenge in the middle of the park that led to him slotting in Jack Clarke to double Sunderland’s lead late on.
Jobe received high praise for his performance afterwards, with the support continuing on his Instagram page.
Jude cheers on Sunderland after Jobe masterclass
The 18-year-old shared a photo of him celebrating Clarke’s goal with the caption: “Feels great to be back in red and white in front of you all, starting as we mean to go on.”
His brother Jude was constantly cheering Sunderland on last season, despite a difficult run of form.
It wasn’t long before the Real Madrid superstar pulled on his red and white stripes once again, replying to Jobe’s post with a message that read: “Haway the lads”.
Clarke also replied with a goat emoji, while Jordan Henderson sent clapping hands.
Jobe now needs to stay consistent after difficult debut campaign
Jobe will be delighted to have impressed on his first game back and it is pretty much the perfect way he could have started the season, as no doubt a section of supporters would have started getting on his back if he went a few matches under the radar.
The youngster has already shown his development from last season, but the key thing now is remaining consistent.
Jobe put on a number of stellar performances last time out, such as their previous visit to Cardiff in March, where he netted his seventh goal of the season.
His form immediately dropped off again though, following it up with a dismal display in the 5-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers.
No one is expecting him to put on 10/10 performances every week, but to see him making a similar impact throughout the campaign is vital to Sunderland’s hopes of winning promotion.
There is much more pressure on his place in the team this term too, with the likes of Chris Rigg and Adil Aouchiche raring to go in the wings.
The early signs are definitely very promising, and hopefully he can pick up where he left off in their return to the Stadium of Light next week.