Opinion: Birmingham City player may be best seeking overseas move amid Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough interest | OneFootball

As with any club in the Championship, when a bright prospect emerges, clubs elsewhere quickly begin to circle.

It has happened to Birmingham City before, most notably when Borussia Dortmund swooped to sign Jude Bellingham in 2020, and, it looks like it could be about to happen to the Blues again.

This time, though, it is another Bellingham who is the subject of the transfer interest – Jobe – Jude’s younger brother.

Indeed, as per TEAMtalk, several clubs, both domestic and overseas are keen on the 17-year-old.

Those clubs are said to include the likes of Premier League side Newcastle United, as well as Birmingham City’s Championship rivals in Sunderand and Middlesbrough.

Not only that, but Scottish giants Rangers, German side Bayer Leverkusen and French outfit OGC Nice are also said to hold an interest.

This of course comes after reports in the past have consistently linked Jobe with a move away from St. Andrews.

In October, for example, FLW exclusively revealed that Borussia Dortmund were seriously looking at the teenager, where, of course, his elder brother plays.

Not only that, though, but several other giant European and domestic clubs have also said to have taken an interest in Bellingham at Blues.

These include but are not limited to; Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Juventus, Inter Milan, and Bayern Munich.

Quiz: Have any of these 25 ex-Birmingham City players ever played for a London based team?

1 of 25

Ryan Woods?

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With plenty of overseas options potentially on the table, then, Jobe may well be better following the path of his brother overseas, taking off the pressure of any big money move that might transpire domestically.

Naturally, whenever a young player goes for a big fee there is going to be pressure and expectation, but in England, this seems to intensify even more.

Look at Jadon Sancho, for example. He was thriving at Borussia Dortmund and looked like a star, but, at present, he is struggling at Manchester United. One could speculate this is down to the scrutiny, pressure and expectations that come with a lofty price tag.

If Jobe Bellingham were to make a multi-million pound move to Newcastle United, for example, the pressure and expectations that come with that whilst being a young English player are enormous.

Arguably, that scrutiny and pressure will be even greater because of the Bellingham name, too.

Jude has gone from strength to strength in his short career and has looked a superstar for Borussia Dortmund so far this season.

The 19-year-old was also brilliant for England at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with many fans and pundits alike lauding his performances and ability.

With Jude making such a name for himself, then, and a big move seemingly on the horizon for him, unfortunately, that also brings about comparisons to his younger brother, and as such, creates expectations that would not be there were it not for his surname.

When you are 17-years-old and developing your talent as a footballer, you are going to make mistakes and you are going to have bad games.

Those bad moments will be amplified in this country, and as such, if Jobe Bellingham is to leave Birmingham City, he may well be best making the move overseas.

In that case, he can go away, enjoy his football and continue to develop his talent away from the glaring eye and scrutiny of the British media, which at this stage of his career, will do more harm than good.