As the Sunderland star produced arguably his best performance in those red and white stripes, it left one EFL expert wondering if a page is set aside for him in the English football history books.
The last time two siblings played alongside each other for the England national team, Nevilles Gary and Phil were being joined together on the Three Lions team sheet by Jonathan Woodgate, Kieran Dyer and the, ahem, ‘one-cap wonder’ Joey Barton during a 1-0 defeat to Spain al the way back in 2007.
But as Jobe Bellingham goes from strength-to-strength at Sunderland 17 years on, will the Black Cats dynamo soon be sharing a Wembley dressing room with his Real Madrid superstar brother?
Will Jude and Jobe join a very exclusive group of brothers to share a pitch in England colours?
With Regis Le Bris’ Sunderland moving five points clear after beating Oxford United thanks to a towering Bellingham header, who is to say the 19-year-old needs to move on from Wearside in order to achieve his ambitions England and Premier League ambitions?
Sunderland’s Jobe Bellingham tipped for Premier League and England future
“Bellingham was just magnificent all game really,” EFL oracle George Elek tells the Not the Top 20 podcast, lauding a ‘brilliant’ finish from a midfielder who appears to share Jude’s knack for crashing the penalty box.
“In the summer, it felt [we were saying]; ‘He’s obviously good. He’s played a lot of minutes, we’ve seen flashes, but we are yet to really see him nail down a position’.
“And, since then, he’s basically done that every week.”
With Sunderland suffering from the loss of Ross Stewart, Bellingham’s tricky start to life in the North East was made all the more difficult. He found himself filling a rather unfamiliar centre-forward role out of necessity more than anything else.
But as Wilson Isidor flies under Le Bris and scoring again versus Oxford, Bellingham has finally been afforded the chance to do what he does best as one of the advanced number eights in Le Bris’ beautifully-balanced midfield triumvirate.
Though Elek is keen to point out that, while Bellingham is shining in a deeper role these days, he does occasionally showcase the centre-forward instincts he honed across 2023/24.
Jobe Bellingham becoming a ‘dominant’ performer under Regis Le Bris
“What’s amazing about him is, the goal he scored on Saturday, it could have been a striker’s goal. He got in between the centre-back and the right-back and it was a good header into the corner which left the keeper with no chance.
“But watching him now, and seeing how dominant he is on the ball with the pitch in front of him and how he is able to drive into spaces, how he is able to find the wingers easily, he is a threat from range, I now think he is a real deal.
“You don’t want to say ‘the real deal’ because his brother is the real deal and you don’t want to compare them. But I now think there is probably quite a good chance that, quite soon, we are going to see Bellingham and Bellingham play for England!
“He is going to be a Premier League player next season, whether that’s with Sunderland or anyone else. Or an elite-level player anyway.
“And his progression, because he is a teenager, is going to be very quick.”
Sunderland reportedly rejected a bid from Crystal Palace for Bellingham last summer, holding out for £20 million.
Presuming the Black Cats can get through the January window unscathed – former Sunderland boss Gus Poyet is already counting down the days until February 1st – and Regis Le Bris can keep a remarkable start going, Bellingham could yet become a Premier League player without ever needing to pack his bags.
And, from there on in, there may be no limits to what the younger of the Bellingham brothers can go onto achieve as he steps out of Jude’s long shadow.