Golden Boy difficult, but gets ‘little brother’…Spurs take another Bellingham ‘year-long look’
Tottenham Hotspur have been scooping up talent lately, and now they’ve set their sights on the younger brother of the Golden Boy.
Tottenham are interested in Sunderland youngster Jobe Bellingham, according to British media outlet Football Insider.
“Tottenham are interested in Sunderland youngster Bellingham,” the report said. The club have been keeping tabs on him for nearly a year after he impressed at Birmingham City in January, and have regularly sent scouts to watch him,” the report said.
Bellingham is an attack-minded, versatile player who can play on either flank or in central midfield and is the younger brother of next year’s Ballon d’Or favorite, Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid).
Bellingham started 16 games in the Champions League (second division) in 2023/24. He joined Sunderland from Birmingham last summer for a fee of £3 million. Bellingham, who currently has three goals and one assist, has helped lead his team to a sixth-place finish and a Premier League promotion battle.
Tottenham have recently been signing younger players rather than veterans. Especially this season, with the transition to Anze Postecoglou, the team has gotten younger.
With the exception of James Maddison and Guglielmo Vicario (both 26), most of the players who joined Spurs in the summer transfer window are in their early 20s.
Manor Solomon (23) is the oldest, followed by Micky Van der Penn, Brennan Johnson (22), Alejo Velis (19) and Ashley Phillips (18). Bellis and Phillips play mostly with the U-21 team, but are often called up to the first team as substitutes and train with them.
As the club continues its trend of bringing in younger players, Bellingham could be a valuable addition to the Spurs second line in the future, if signed. He is the same age as Phillips. The pair have also played together for the England U-19s, so the transition shouldn’t be too difficult.
Jobe’s older brother, Jude Bellingham, recently won the Golden Boy Award, the most prestigious honor given to a young player, and many clubs are looking to see if Jobe has similar talent.
Earlier, Italian media outlet Tuttosport officially announced on its website on the 18th that “Jude Bellingham is the 2023 Golden Boy winner”.
Since 2003, Tuttosport has honored the best players under the age of 21 playing in Europe for 20 years. The 2022 Golden Boy was won by Spain national team and Barcelona midfielder Gabi.
The new ace of the South Korean national team, Lee Kang-in (PSG), was also recognized for his potential in 2019 when he became the first South Korean player to make the final 20 in the Golden Boy voting.
Bellingham, who played for Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga until last season, arrived in a Real shirt in the summer transfer window for €130 million ($143.7 million). Real were willing to pay that kind of money for Bellingham, who was born in 2003 and is only 20 years old, because they believe he is a superstar who will lead the soccer world in the future.
Since joining one of the best clubs in the world, Bellingham has been an instant starter for Real. This season, Bellingham has scored 13 goals and provided three assists in 14 appearances across all competitions, showing off his prodigious goalscoring ability despite not being a striker.
Unlike his older brother, Jobe plays in a more attacking position, and the synergy between the two brothers is already being noted in soccer circles in England.
Last year, following the joint bid for the upcoming European Football Championship 2028 (Euro 2028) by the four national football associations of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as England’s neighbor to the north, Ireland, the English media highlighted some of the key players who will take to the pitch for the host nation five years from now.
The inclusion of the Bellingham brothers on the list reflects the expectations England fans have for the pair. However, it turns out that Tottenham are keeping a close eye on younger brother Jobe.
