From ‘Bellingham’ to ‘Jobe’
Jobe signed for Sunderland on July 14 2023 which coincidently was the same day his brother was named a Real Madrid player.
His brother’s Galactico transfer may have overshadowed Jobe’s move to Wearside, but it was one that Deeney felt was the right change for Jobe at the right time.
“I liked it at the time because I think Sunderland is a huge club and their fan expectation is higher than the team is at this point. Their fans expect them to be challenging for the playoffs.
“The manager that he joined at the time, Tony Mowbray had a track record of playing a style of football that suits Jobe.
“They’ve got Jack Clarke there as well, who is a good, talented young player and I think Jobe needs to be around like-minded people.
“They’re a good club in the Championship and they’ll be earning very good money. But they’ll feel like they need the Premier League.
“Not only do they want to get the Premier League, they want to go to likes of Manchester United and Arsenal.”
Jobe’s displays have put him in the proverbial shop window with clubs in Europe and in the Premier League constantly linked with his signature. Ambition and self-drive are a big part of Jobe’s game and according to his former captain, they are traits that will prepare him for a career in the top flight.
“He knows he should be in the Premier League,”
“There’s an arrogance that comes with being self-assured. He knows he does the work, he knows he lives the life. He knows he’s putting the work in to be the best version of himself every single day.”
Jobe’s aspirations are reflected in the fact that he no longer wears Bellingham on the back of his shirt. He opts for his forename on the back of his jersey instead. The point with that is he doesn’t want to be known as just the ‘brother of Jude’.
Jobe’s manager at the time Mowbray was supportive of his decision to change the name on his back from “Bellingham” to “Jobe”.
“He’s trying to create his own identity,” the former Sunderland manager told press in 2023.
“He doesn’t want to live off the back of his brother’s name; he wants to be the footballer that he is and show people what he can do.”
Deeney and Jobe shared a dressing room as the youngster had his first taste of professional football. Both players were at the opposite ends of their careers, but Deeney was impressed by Jobe before he had even met him.
Naturally, Jobe’s reputation had preceded him but Deeney didn’t want to initially meet the then 15-year-old just because of the attention, he preferred to observe from afar.
“My first interaction was watching him warm up,” Deeney told Sky Sports.
“Scotty Hogan was giving him some stick. Jobe just turned around at 16 and gave it back to him. Not in a, ‘I’m better than you’ way but like he’d been there for years.
“It was so quick-witted, funny, sharp, but also on a level that was like, ‘I don’t think I’m bigger or better than you’. That showed me he’s ready for this. A lot of young people come up and freeze when they get around the older lads.
“It takes a few sessions to really show what they can do with a football and to show what their personality. But he was so self-assured. He was like ‘I’m ready for this.’”
