Darren Bent names ‘perfect club’ for Jobe Bellingham as £25m Sunderland exit nears

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On his way to Borussia Dortmund in a deal which could extend beyond £30 million, the question on everybody’s lips is whether or not Sunderland’s Jobe Bellingham is doing the right thing following in Jude’s footsteps.

There is a reason, after all, why the former Birmingham City teenager opted to drop that famous surname from the back of his kit.

The younger of the Bellingham brothers goes by ‘Jobe’ these days. As former Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray explained at the time, ‘he’s trying to create his own identity. He doesn’t want to live off the back of his brother’s name’.

With that in mind, as Jobe Bellingham picks Borussia Dortmund over Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig and a host of Premier League suitors, his decision to join the club where Jude established himself as a footballing force is one which raised a lot of eyebrows.

Darren Bent, a former Black Cat himself, joined the debate only hours after EFL Analysis reported that Sunderland are set to accept an initial £25 million offer from the 2024 Champions League finalists.

Darren Bent sees pros and cons as Jobe Bellingham nears Sunderland exit

Bent, while admitting that pitting Jobe Bellingham against Jude Bellingham puts the former on a hiding to nothing, knows that such comparisons will be unavoidable from here on in.

“I like him. It’s always unfair to compare. His brother is one of the best players on the planet,” says Bent, who scored 32 goals in 58 Premier League games for Sunderland between 2009 and 2011. “[So moving to Dortmund] almost makes sense but it doesn’t [at the same time].

“The reason why I said it doesn’t is that you’ve been promoted with Sunderland. You are going to be playing in one of the best leagues in the world, if not the best. You’re in the Premier League.

“But then, on the flip-side, the reason why I say it’s probably the right thing is you look at the path his brother has taken. Your brother has done it right. This sounds nuts; Birmingham City, Dortmund, Real Madrid.”

In the space of just four years, Jude Bellingham went from a teenage tyrant tearing up trees at the heart of Birmingham City’s midfield to conquering the whole of Europe with Real Madrid.

Now, for obvious reasons, it is rather unreasonable to expect the same immediate success from 19-year-old Jobe. According to reports, jilted suitors Eintracht Frankfurt had reservations about Bellingham’s true potential and his ability to earn the club a considerable enough profit on an initial £25 million investment.

Bent argues Borussia Dortmund is ‘the perfect move’ for Bellingham

Bent takes another angle, however.

He points out that Dortmund have already proven themselves capable of setting ambitious young Englishmen on the right path. See Jadon Sancho and Jamie Gittens, let alone a certain Stourbridge sensation.

Thus, reducing the risk of an expensive misstep.

“Dortmund probably know the family really, really well,” adds Bent, who netted over 100 Premier League goals for the likes of Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa. “They have probably been onto the parents for a long time.

“It feels like the perfect move.

“What I do like about it is that we are seeing young, English players looking beyond the Premier League. [Jobe may be thinking] ‘If I go out in Europe and experience different cultures and do well, there is always time to come back [to England]’.

“For me, its the perfect club because the pathway has already been set by his brother.”