Sunderland star Jobe Bellingham was left at home for the game against Norwich City on Tuesday night, which proved uneventful.
Regis Le Bris’ side secured their spot in the Championship play-offs for next season after drawing 0-0 against Norwich City at Carrow Road, in a game that offered up very few talking points.
Sunderland remain in 4th place of the Championship table after drawing against 11th place Norwich City, with the Black Cats having remained in 4th place pretty much throughout the season.
And how Le Bris manages the final five games of the season remains to be seen. He’s got Enzo Le Fee to manage with the Frenchman having returned to action for Sunderland and looked sharp, and he’s also got Jobe Bellingham among other mainstays to rest up too.
At Carrow Road, Bellingham was left at home. After the game, Le Bris revealed an ‘injury’ for Bellingham, explaining: “He’s ok. It’s not a serious injury. Although he wants to play every game, today was an opportunity for him to refresh. We’re able to manage the squad to keep everyone in their best shape, and that was the decision today.”
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Chelsea showing strongest interest in Jobe Bellingham at Sunderland
It’s no secret that there’s Premier League clubs tracking Bellingham ahead of the summer. He’s also had links to the likes of Borussia Dortmund over the course of the season, but a new report from Caught Offside has revealed that it’s Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea who are ‘currently showing the strongest interest’ in Bellingham.
The same report also reiterates that the 19-year-old has ongoing interest from several Premier League clubs including Arsenal, Man United, Spurs, Crystal Palace, Brighton, also revealing that Bayer Leverkusen are interested along with Bundesliga giants Dortmund.
This latest update on Bellingham’s future comes after his unexpected absence against Norwich City which was easily explained by Le Bris. Though the timing of the report is certainly interesting.
Regis Le Bris’ pre-Norwich City comments make Jobe Bellingham situation intriguing
Speaking before the Norwich City game, Le Bris stressed the need to keep his players fresh going into the final weeks of the season. Then oddly enough, and out of the blue, Bellingham had an injury, and then fresh reports about his future emerged.
Before the Norwich City game Le Bris said: “From the beginning of the season, we have almost always played with the same structure, with Dan [Neil] and Jobe in the same position.
“I think now for the final stage of the season, it’s important, one, to keep things fresh for them and, two, to create a bit more versatility and flexibility of the team. It’s useful for us to have some more layers in our game for the future.”
It’s very likely just coincidence that Bellingham missed Norwich City through a slight injury, that he probably picked up on the Monday in training. Either way he and his teammates will simply be focussed on the task at hand which is now preparing for the play-offs in five games’ time.
Up next is a home game against Swansea City.