Jobe Bellingham has been tipped to leave Sunderland next summer.
That’s according to former midfielder Carlton Palmer, who thinks it is a ‘realistic possibility’ for the teenager to join a bigger club at the end of the season.
Like his brother Jude, Jobe Bellingham began his professional career with boyhood club Birmingham City.
The 18-year-old made 25 appearances for the Blues before making a £3 million switch to the Stadium of Light in June.
Jobe has made a really positive impact since arriving on Wearside and has retained a regular place in the team, starting all 16 games in the Championship so far.
After netting his third goal of the campaign against his former club last time out, the midfielder was linked with a January move to Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs’ interest comes after previous reports that claimed Real Madrid had also been monitoring the youngster.
The North London club are said to be on the look out for a creative player to provide cover for the injured James Maddison and see Jobe as a potential option.
While Carlton Palmer believes Sunderland will manage to keep hold of Jobe in January, he has predicted that he will take the next step in the summer.
Speaking to Football League World, Palmer said: “I think Sunderland are unlikely to let Jobe leave in January with the impending departure of Jack Clarke, but next summer would be a realistic possibility for Jobe to leave for a bigger club in the Premier League or Europe.”
Would Jobe Bellingham be making a mistake if he left Sunderland?
While still younger than Jude, Jobe Bellingham took a different route away from Birmingham City to his brother.
Jude opted to go abroad to join Borussia Dortmund and eventually arrived on Real Madrid this season, while it still seems like Jobe is far from reaching those heights.
The England U19 international is clearly a huge talent and has an exceptional future ahead of him, but there is no chance that he is ready for Premier League football – never mind with a club like Tottenham.
Jobe is clearly a very confident, mature man and footballer, but he doesn’t need this unwanted pressure on his shoulders just because of his brother. He will undoubtedly play at the highest level at some point, but it seems very unlikely that Tottenham would be looking at him if it wasn’t for Jude’s success in Spain.
Jobe should be sensible enough to stick with Sunderland for a few years, because a move to the Premier League too soon could hamper his progress and leave him playing with the U21s.