Jamie Redknapp Gets Jobe Bellingham Point Wrong With Sunderland Snub

Pundit Jamie Redknapp has confusingly claimed that former Sunderland midfielder Jobe Bellingham had to "go abroad to get games" with his move to Borussia Dortmund to see him called up to the senior England squad.

However, former Liverpool and Tottenham player Redknapp could not be further from the truth with his comments, given that Jobe, Jude Bellingham's younger brother, played over 100 times for Sunderland in two extremely impressive developmental seasons at the Stadium of Light.

Back in the summer of 2023, Sunderland signed Bellingham from Birmingham City in a £3m deal, and the then-teenage phenomenon would go on to play a pivotal role in the Black Cats' promotion from the Championship back to the Premier League promised land.

In his two seasons at Sunderland, Bellingham netted 11 goals and registered four assists in 90 games for the Black Cats, with his final outing coming in the 2025 Championship play-off final victory over Sheffield United at Wembley to send Regis Le Bris' side to the Premier League in the Frenchman's first season.

Bellingham's two-season stint at Sunderland, in which his physically imposing and energetic midfield performances made a substantial impact on their promotion-clinching campaign, directly disproves Redknapp's comments regarding the former Black Cats starlet.

On the former Sunderland star, Redknapp told The Overlap Daily: "What a fine young man, honestly, so impressed.

"He's a football nut, you know, he's a real student of the game.

"But I think what you have to do, though, is you have to credit the family, what a job they've done.

"They've brought up two incredible young men, one's at Real Madrid, one's at Dortmund, that could now, obviously, have lots of different options."

90 games, 15 goal contributions, and a Championship play-off final winners' medal; how can this constitute the need to "go abroad to get games" for his development?

Clearly, Bellingham still has a depth of love and admiration for Sunderland, who played a crucial role in his development, after pictures emerged of his red-and-white-inspired shin pads in the England camp, and his outpouring of emotion under the Wembley arch during his final Black Cats game will never be forgotten by the Wearside faithful.

However, Bellingham would not enjoy the top flight fruits of his Sunderland labour, with the English youngster securing a move to Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund in a £32m deal, seeing the midfield follow in his older brother's footsteps to enjoy the next stage of his career at the Signal Iduna Park.

At Dortmund, away from the Premier League, Bellingham has continued his impressive trajectory, featuring 64 times for the German giants with some stellar performances along the way, leading to England boss Thomas Tuchel granting the 21-year-old his first senior England call-up for the current international break.

The Dortmund midfielder was an unused substitute in England's 2-1 UEFA Nations League group win over Croatia on Thursday evening, and will be hoping to make his senior Three Lions debut against World champions Spain on Sunday evening.

If Bellingham does so, any on-looking Sunderland supporters will be watching on with pride for the former fan-favourite, and Redknapp would do well to remember the role that the Black Cats played in the England talent's rise to stardom.