Exclusive: Don Goodman reveals "enormous" factor that will decide whether Jobe Bellingham leaves Sunderland | OneFootball

Bellingham has flown out to Germany as speculation over his immediate future continues

Former Sunderland striker and Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman believes there is one "enormous" factor which Jobe Bellingham has to consider as exit talk surrounding the Black Cats ace intensifies.

This comes just days after Regis Le Bris' side ended their well-documented eight-year exile from the Premier League in the most dramatic of fashions, coming from behind to defeat Sheffield United 2-1 at Wembley Stadium in the Championship play-off final as Eliezer Mayenda and academy graduate, Tommy Watson, turned the contest on its head in the final 15 minutes.

The Wearside outfit banked at least £220m as a result of their success in North London on Saturday, and their focus will immediately turn to the transfer market, with plenty of activity needed and expected in order to stave off an immediate return to the EFL, which all the previous six promotion-winning sides have succumbed to.

However, it remains to be seen how many current young stars Sunderland can hold onto themselves, with Bellingham and Chris Rigg, in particular, the subject of mass transfer speculation in the past year from clubs in the top-flight and on the continent.

It was reported in March that the North East side valued their 19-year-old midfield gem in excess of £20m as the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur expressed an interest in the England youth international.

Prior to the club's play-off success, it was revealed that Borussia Dortmund, who Bellingham's brother, Jude, played for on 132 occasions between 2020 and 2023 after a £30m switch from Birmingham City, had increased their interest, as well as facing competition from Bundesliga rivals, RB Leipzig.

The Signal Iduna Park outfit were said to be readying a move for Jobe, with fresh reports claiming that he is set to visit the club's facilities although Sunderland have made their stance clear, that he will remain a key cog in Le Bris' side if they can retain his services.

This comes just two days after the Championship's Young Player of the Season flew over to Germany to hold talks with Eintracht Frankfurt, with Goodman explaining exclusively to FLW that Bellingham has plenty of factors to consider before making his final decision.

"It's a really tricky one - isn't it - for Jobe Bellingham, really," the Sky Sports pundit began. "Newly-promoted to the Premier League, so he could be a Premier League player next season.

"But, is he thinking, in his heart of hearts, like most people will think, Sunderland might struggle," the former Black Cats striker claimed. "And, by going to either Frankfurt or Borussia Dortmund, he would be a Champions League player.

"That could be an enormous pull in this situation," Goodman stated.

"Obviously, he's got his brother's experience of the Bundesliga to call upon, so it's a difficult one and a very, very hard question to answer (whether he will stay or depart)."

Sunderland have given themselves the best chance of retaining Jobe Bellingham

As Goodman alluded to, both of the German sides in question have qualified for the Champions League next season, which, undisputedly, could be the main factor in Bellingham's final decision, regardless of the riches and spotlight the Premier League can offer itself.

However, it's fair to say that whilst his future at the Stadium of Light remains up in the air just days after the joyous scenes at Wembley, the Black Cats have given themselves the best possible chance of retaining the midfielder, who had been tipped as a certainty to leave the football club if they remained in the second-tier for 2025/26.

Jobe has continuously spoken about wanting to write his own story and not live in the shadow of his brother, who continues to excel for Real Madrid and England, but the foundations of such global success were laid at the North Rhine-Westphalian club, which could also influence the eventual outcome of this long-standing transfer saga.