Sunderland AFC deal with Birmingham City may be their best in the modern era | OneFootball

Jobe Bellingham looked to be an interesting signing on paper - and it has turned out to be an excellent bit of business.

Jobe Bellingham would have been hoping to follow in his older brother Jude's footsteps and make a real impact for Birmingham City.

Born in the local area, Jobe had a real connection with Blues, and was included in the first team at a very young age.

He made his debut at 16 in an FA Cup clash against Plymouth Argyle in January 2022, but he wasn't able to make that much of an impact in the senior squad before his move to Sunderland in the summer of 2023.

Jobe Bellingham's move to Sunderland

Bellingham had been linked with a move to the Stadium of Light back in May 2022, with the Black Cats interested in a move for the player even back then, according to a report from the Daily Mail.

But even though they were promoted at the end of the 2021/22 campaign, they weren't able to get a deal over the line for the teenager until the following summer, when Tony Mowbray (pictured above) was at the helm.

Sunderland Nation believes the player joined for a fee of much less than £3m, which is a remarkable bit of business, considering the potential that the player had and still has.

He may not have been a regular starter at St Andrew's, but the Wearside club did well to secure him for that kind of fee, and they have richly benefitted from having the player ever since.

Jobe Bellingham deal has proved to be a great bit of business for Sunderland

The Wearside outfit have conducted some great bits of business in recent years.

The signing of Ross Stewart was game-changing for them - because the forward played a big part in helping them reach the Championship, following a fairly long spell in League One.

Pierre Ekwah also proved to be a very shrewd addition, with the midfielder taking no time at all to adapt to life at the Stadium of Light.

And wingers Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts are two other players who deserve a mention.

The Black Cats helped both players to kickstart their careers - and Clarke was sold to Ipswich Town for a very handsome profit during the previous window.

But the addition of Bellingham is probably the best bit of business they have done in quite a few years.

Many football fans knew he had a decent amount of potential, but he hadn't played a key part for Birmingham during the latter stages of his stay at St Andrew's, and it was arguably risky for the Black Cats to recruit him.

But they did so on a fairly cheap deal - and he became a key part of the first team straight away, with Mowbray putting plenty of faith in him.

The midfielder hasn't looked back since, scoring seven goals in 45 league appearances during his first campaign at the SoL.

That's a fairly impressive total - and he has registered a respectable four goals and three assists in 25 second-tier appearances this term.

Establishing himself as a key player for the Black Cats already, he will only get better and with his contract not expiring until 2028, he looks set to be sold on for a sizeable profit.

How much he will go for remains to be seen, but he's unlikely to be short of interest in the coming windows and that will only increase his price tag.