“He’s better on the ball than his brother” – Birmingham City fan pundit delivers verdict on Jobe Bellingham’s future

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Since becoming Birmingham City manager in March 2021, Lee Bowyer has not been shy when it comes to giving academy stars a chance to shine at St. Andrew’s.

The Blues have some talents coming through their ranks, with the main one to perform regularly this season being teenage midfielder Jordan James, who has 14 Championship appearances to his name.

League minutes have also been given to George Hall, Mitchell Roberts and Marcel Oakley but the name that everyone wants to know about is Jobe Bellingham and whether or not he can follow in the footsteps of his older brother Jude.

The latter of course departed for Borussia Dortmund in 2020 for a club-record fee and despite only appearing twice for Birmingham’s first-team, 16-year-old Jobe has already been linked with a link-up with Jude in Germany at Dortmund, as well as Premier League giants Liverpool being interested.

FLW’s Birmingham City fan pundit Tom Oxland believes it’s only a matter of time before top flight interest becomes something much stronger for Bellingham and he can see the club cashing in on the teenager, who has scored five goals in eight under-18 Premier League matches this season.

“If the right offer came in – an amount of money that we couldn’t say no to – then 100 per cent I think I would be willing to sell him (Bellingham),” Oxland said.

“He’s an exciting player, I actually think he’s better on the ball than his brother is but his brother is more versatile, well-rounded and a little bit quicker and covers ground more.

“Jobe on the attacking