Jobe Bellingham has praised Luke O’Nien for helping him settle into life at Sunderland.
Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, the midfielder labelled his new teammate as ‘the most childish one’ and admitted that he has ‘really helped’ him since joining the club.
Jobe arrived on Wearside from boyhood club Birmingham City in June and has since enjoyed a stellar start to the campaign.
Despite a difficult few games for the club, the 17-year-old has made three starts in the Championship and netted a brace in the 2-1 win over Rotherham United at the weekend.
The teenager was expected to rotate under Tony Mowbray this season and it is still likely to be the case, but it would be very hard to drop him after his very mature performances so far.
While fans are very quickly coming to love Jobe, it appears he is really enjoying his time up north too.
Despite most 17 year olds still having a at least few years of living with their parents left, Jobe has already moved almost four hours up the road. However, he is clearly adapting to life on Wearside very quickly.
Jobe Bellingham thanks Luke O’Nien for helping him settle
“Because we are all young it’s much easier to get along with players because you are more relatable, you are more childish I suppose,” Jobe said.
“It’s been really easy. All the lads are top lad, and then you have players like Luke (O’Nien) who is trying to make me laugh. I say that, he’s the most childish one.
“People like him are really helping me learn about the area because it’s the first time I’ve moved out of the West Midlands, so learning about the area, places to go, where to live, things like that. That’s the things the older boys can help me with.
“I’m really grateful for how I’ve been welcomed by the players and the fans so far.”