Sunderland AFC director drops clear Jobe Bellingham prediction | OneFootball

Sunderland's starlet can achieve anything in the sport, according to one of their chiefs.

Sunderland's non-executive director, David Jones, believes that the sky is the limit for Jobe Bellingham.

Whenever you have an older sibling that is as successful as Jobe's brother Jude is, and will continue to be, there will always be great pressure and expectations on you to live up to what they have achieved.

Sunderland's Bellingham has gone about things in a bit of a different way. He's done a lot of things to almost disassociate people with the Real Madrid midfielder; changing the name that he wears on the back of his shirt from 'Bellingham' to 'Jobe', for example.

And we've seen pretty much since he joined Sunderland from Birmingham City last summer, in an initial £1.5 million deal, that he is not riding on the back of his sibling's coat tails. He is a very exciting talent in his own right, one that people inside the Stadium of Light feel could be a real world beater in time.

David Jones makes bold Jobe Bellingham prediction

In the words of Harry Redknapp, when he spoke about a young Frank Lampard at West Ham United, Jones believes that the 19-year-old can go "right to the very top."

"I think this is a young lad, of course, who came to us with a big reputation but almost in the shadow of his brother. And I think everyone can see that because his brother has had this extraordinary early development.

"But that shouldn't detract from what people think about Jobe, who is his own player, hence you see it on the back of his shirt. I totally agree with you that his development is way beyond expectations and I think we have seen at Sunderland how different he has been from one season to the next.

"So he's still only 19, so who's to stay in a years' time might have gone up another couple of levels, and a year after that he's gone up another couple of levels?

"He has shown a versatility that I think people didn't or weren't aware of. Yeah, he played up front last season, but he also played 10, he played eight. Now we've seen him play six this season and have that more disciplined role; he can do all of it, George.

"I don't think there is anything stopping Jobe from going right to the very top of the game."

To show just how highly rated the midfielder is, Borussia Dortmund have been in contact with him about a potential move.

Sunderland will find it tough to hold onto Jobe Bellingham for too much longer

The Black Cats are in a good position when it comes to interest in the teenager. His contract with them runs until 2028, so there's no chance of him leaving for nothing in the near future. In fact, recent reports have suggested that the Wearsiders would be looking to get €25 million (~ just above £20 million) in return for him.

However, because of his talent, and the hype surrounding his brother, which, in this case, works to his benefit, there are going to be clubs around Europe clambering to sign him.

Ultimately, Sunderland's model is built on buying players like him when they are young and cheap, allowing them to develop and then selling them on for huge profits. That will almost certainly happen with Jobe, it's just a question of when.