It may have taken 39 games of the season, but Sunderland have finally found an answer to their centre-forward issues at long last.
“It’s up to the coaches to figure out where my attributes fit the team best. I’m not a***d where I play really, as long as I’m in red and white that’s fine,” says Jobe Bellingham, fresh off the back of excelling for Sunderland in their first victory for eight Championship games in Good Friday’s win over Cardiff City.
“At the minute I’m just learning really because I have no idea what position I am, but I suppose that’s quite exciting in a way because I’ll find out as the years go on and what I enjoy doing the most.”
It’s a refreshing take from the 18-year-old, and enjoy it he most certainly did as he produced a real coming of age performance when interim head coach Mike Dodds needed it the most with his seventh goal of the season and an assist by winning the penalty which was converted by Adil Aouchiche to open the scoring.
Much of the discourse for the entirety of the 2023-24 season has surrounded Sunderland’s attacking impetus, or lack thereof for the most part, after last summer’s acquisitions have failed to deliver on a regular basis. First there was Luis Hemir, brought in for a six-figure sum from Benfica’s B team where he scored 28 goals in 61 appearances. A player sporting director Kristjaan Speakman suggested could ‘complement our existing options in the final third’ and someone who ‘possesses some great physical and technical attributes.’ In 20 appearances, including four as a starter, he has yet to contribute a goal or an assist for Sunderland, having seen another big moment pass him by in the closing stages against Cardiff.
Next there is Mason Burstow. Brought in on loan from Chelsea, a player coveted by Speakman for a prolonged period of time, he has produced just one goal and one assist in 20 appearances, 12 as a starter. Then there’s Ukrainian, Nazariy Rusyn – the player with most appearances to his name in his debut season at the Stadium of Light with 21, albeit only nine as a starter. At 25-years-old he brings an element of experience with him, and also required a substantial transfer fee to acquire from Zorya Luhansk, but he has managed just two goals and one assist.
Finally, the club brought in teenager Eliezer Mayenda from French side Sochaux for an undisclosed fee. The Spaniard made just eight appearances, only one as a starter, in the opening half of the season before being moved out on loan to Scottish Premiership side Hibernian, where he has made just four appearances. He has yet to contribute any goals of assists for either team.
Clearly then, it has been a huge issue for Sunderland this season, whether it be Tony Mowbray, Michael Beale or Dodds sitting in the dugout. Where last season the club, conceivably, had an embarrassment of riches in the final third, with as many as five players contributing 10 or more goals and assists across the campaign, this year they have been found wanting with a lack of experience and quality in attack.
It has led to the likes of Jobe, Bradley Dack and Alex Pritchard, prior to his January exit, all being utilised as impromptu centre-forwards this season – the club heavily reliant on Jack Clarke’s 19 goal contributions as to why they find themselves in mid-table and, perhaps, not facing the prospect of a relegation scrap. With Pritchard no longer at the Stadium of Light, and Dack having struggled for form and fitness since his arrival last summer, it has left the door open for Jobe to operate as the centre-forward on occasion.
It's one of ten roles Jobe has found himself playing this season as both he, and the club, continue to source his best position.
With others flailing, Jobe was handed the chance to prove his worth leading Sunderland’s attack at Cardiff where he produced a real eye-opening display – his conversion from Aouchiche’s cross his eighth goal contribution this season (seven goals and one assist) – nearly twice as many as Sunderland’s four summer striking additions combined, six more than Dack and two more than Pritchard. Only Dan Neil (nine) and Clarke have more goal contributions than Jobe this season in what is his first full season as a Championship regular.
So, is Jobe a striker?
“I think he can be anything he wants to be, to be honest,” says Dodds. “I have had some private conversations with Jobe about his best position and my thoughts on that, and that will stay private between us.
“Jobe's an 18-year-old who has to carry the weight of his brother, which is sometimes unfair. If you take that to one side, you've just seen an 18-year-old who should be playing youth team football performing exceptionally well. It was a big performance from him.
“It might be hard to shift him [from starting there again] in terms of we've had a positive result and he's scored a goal and done really well in the game but in terms of him, Jobe is the kind of kid who is a coaches dream. He'll play anywhere you want. If I asked him to go in goal then he'd just crack on with it.
“When I took the team previously I played him as a striker in the West Brom game, so it's something I've done previously. I just felt the timing was right, I think the group probably needed a little bit more of a physical presence at the top of the pitch and what he has got that not many other number nines in this league will have is unbelievable quality with his feet – he’s like a centre-midfielder playing up front that has the physical attributes to do it.
“We should be really excited about the performance. Hopefully it's something that we can build on moving forward. I thought he gave us a platform to play off and I'm really happy for him because he has been moved around a huge amount this season, and I think that's now seven goals for an 18-year-old in the Championship - it's unbelievable when you look at it from a statistical point of view.”
What’s key about Jobe’s display at Cardiff was particularly evident with his goal – given that it’s a goal Sunderland are unlikely to have scored had any other player in their squad been leading the line.
Take his position as Sunderland set-up from a free kick wide on the right, for example.
He is positioned centrally and is occupying both Cardiff centre-backs, Nathaniel Phillips and Dimitrios Goutas, while Abdoullah Ba’s presence does just enough to create distance with Perry Ng, the remaining defender on the edge of the 18-yard box. But where we see some attacking players create an option in the channel from set piece situations such as this one, as highlighted by the red target zone, Jobe remains in that central area.
Sunderland play the free kick short from Luke O’Nien into Trai Hume on the right wing and Jobe signals for a cross into the box, backing himself to compete with Phillips and Goutas.
Instead, aided by a clever run into that previously mentioned space by Aouchiche, Hume plays a terrific, deft pass into the channel which beats left-back Josh Wilson-Esbrand who tries to track the run.
This allows Jobe to dictate things how he wants with the two centre-backs, whether he attempts to run in behind or stay deep.
As Aouchiche takes possession, Sunderland find themselves three-on-three inside the Cardiff penalty area as Goutas is forced to confront the Frenchman, leaving Jobe and Ba to provide an option centrally.
Initially, Jobe considers hanging back towards the edge of the area – as you can see below, he has already created space for himself by doing this. But anticipating Aouchiche will look across the six-yard box, Jobe makes a hugely intelligent run in-between Phillips and Ng, albeit he still has plenty of work to do to get ahead of both defenders, given their starting positions.
Aouchiche’s cross is excellent, it’s drilled in with pace whereby any touch is likely to cause a threat to Ethan Horvath’s goal – the goalkeeper stranded by covering his near post.
Jobe, at this point, is now level with Phillips and Ng and his desire and momentum carries him into the six-yard box.
Jobe meets Aouchiche’s cross and blasts into the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season, but it was the kind of movement scarcely seen by others in attack and was perhaps the strongest evidence yet of Jobe’s instinctive centre-forward thinking.
It was Jobe’s second goal in three games, his third in nine.
One of those came in the defeat at Southampton whereby he displayed another string to his bow with his range of goalscoring, despite playing the game in midfield.
Having made an error in the first half which contributed to Southampton opening the scoring, Jobe made amends with a stunning strike to level the scores at 2-2, a goal which exhibited further evidence of his instinctive nature in terms of his positioning.
As Aouchiche contests a ball with Southampton full-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis on the left, Jobe has drifted into an open space just in-field should any loose ball fall his way.
When the ball does land at his feet, he has a number of options.
Aouchiche has created a passing lane to his left in behind the defence, while Rusyn is available centrally in the penalty area. Further to the right, Jobe could also look to find Romaine Mundle who had already scored minutes previous.
Instead, Jobe’s first thought is to shift the ball into the space on his favoured right foot to create a shooting angle.
Having created that yard of space for himself, Jobe backs his ability to hit the target and takes a strike at goal – something which we have seldom seen from Sunderland’s other attacking options as confidence levels have diminished over the course of the season.
Jobe’s strike is picture-book perfect as it sails into the top corner away from the outstretched Gavin Bazunu.
The third goal of this mini-run from Jobe came in Sunderland’s last win prior to this over Cardiff against Plymouth Argyle. It was one of just two games this season in which Jobe has found himself starting on the bench before being brought on with Sunderland in front in the game – again in midfield as opposed to being Sunderland’s outright striker.
What’s different with this goal is it demonstrates his ability to carry the ball, albeit against a lacklustre Plymouth defence.
As he picks up possession on the left, Jobe could move a simple pass into the channel for Clarke, who had previously scored a stunning goal to give Sunderland the lead, with Plymouth rigid in their back five set-up.
But with Plymouth reluctant to engage with Jobe, the 18-year-old continues to carry the ball forward, moving further and further in-field, bypassing the option of Clarke on the wing.
Jobe is able to make it to the edge of the penalty area before Ashley Phillips commits to confronting him.
Jobe is clever enough to dribble his way into the area and create a similar shooting angle as we saw at Southampton and is again intelligent in how he shapes his strike at goal around Phillips towards the far corner, leaving goalkeeper Conor Hazard unsighted.
Jobe’s strike is inch perfect as it clips the post on the way in to extend Sunderland’s lead in the game within seconds of his introduction from the bench.
All three of these goals show different, key attributes as to why Jobe is now Sunderland’s undeniable leading candidate for the centre-forward position.
At Cardiff he demonstrated his nous to run in behind and break the lines to meet a cross into the six-yard box, showing the kind of desire needed by a goalscorer to get on the end of things. His strike at Southampton was exquisite and highlighted confidence in his own ability to shoot from range, despite suffering an earlier setback in the game, with his goal against Plymouth a different solo strike showing his ability to carry the ball forward and put defenders on the backfoot. When it comes to his instinctive nature, his goal against Birmingham in November when converting from a near post corner is another example of why he edges those also vying for the centre-forward berth as he cushioned a volley into the back of the net.
Although goals are key, naturally, for a centre-forward, it is also their work off the ball in occupying defenders and that is something Jobe did brilliantly at the Cardiff City Stadium – the most notable example coming with his involvement in the winning of the penalty which allowed Dodds’ side the opportunity to take the lead.
As Goutas attempts to bring the ball out from the back, as we see from so many teams nowadays, Sunderland have triggered their press well, including Jobe’s tracking back on the defender, leaving few options short of a direct ball.
Again like most, however, Erol Bulut has clearly instructed his team to play their way out of trouble where they can which sees Goutas, under pressure from Jobe, attempt a risky pass infield to Joe Ralls.
Goutas has too much weight on his pass into the midfielder which sees a turnover in possession to Aouchiche.
Jobe has already acknowledged the turnover and has reacted well by spinning to face goal, providing an easy slide-rule pass from Aouchiche into a dangerous area.
Jobe’s first instinct is to cut inside and create a greater angle for himself, Ba also providing an option further left should he see fit.
Goutas endeavours to rectify his mistake by winning back possession but Jobe, at the first sense of contact, is sent tumbling which results in a penalty to Sunderland.
On first evidence it seemed a soft decision – Cardiff boss Bulut left perplexed after the game – but Jobe’s initial hassling of Goutas and movement inside when in possession created the opportunity and invited the contact.
It wasn’t just his goal contributions that are worth highlight against Cardiff, however. His forward play involved plenty of selfless runs off the ball and winning his fair share of attacking duels, nine of 12 to be exact.
One of those duels came almost immediately after he had doubled Sunderland’s lead, as you can see below.
As Aouchiche looks to move the ball forward from midfield, Jobe is level with Phillips in the centre-forward position.
As the ball breaks into the area of space Jobe grapples with Phillips, determined not to give up the opportunity to win possession.
Jobe wrestles his way in front of the former Celtic loan defender before laying a pass into the path of Pierre Ekwah.
It may seem fairly innocuous, but given Sunderland had just gone 2-0 up, this was a particular duel Jobe did not necessarily have to get involved in at the risk of anything rash from Phillips borne out of frustration. Instead, buoyed by his goal and start to the game, Jobe’s confidence and swagger grew.
Another example of the tireless shift he put in came in the second half.
Sunderland had managed the game pretty well and looked set to be on their way to ending their winless streak but Jobe continued to prove himself to be a nuisance for the Cardiff defence.
In the example below, as Goutas brings the ball out from the back, similar to what we saw in what led to the penalty incident, Jobe hunts him down and tracks back towards the halfway line.
Jobe sticks out a leg and robs possession from Goutas and forces a turnover right in front of his watching head coach as Sunderland then have bodies to force a counter-press which eventually leads to Jobe winning a free kick from Goutas who pulls him back in frustration.
That attitude and application was omnipresent throughout the game.
Spurred on by Sunderland’s travelling support serenading his name deep into stoppage time, with the game won, Jobe still hassles and harries the Cardiff defence.
On this occasion, as a Sunderland attack is cleared out to the right, he hunts down substitute Yakou Meite and wins back possession with a perfectly timed sliding challenge, much to the vigour of the away end.
Jobe had 57 touches in the game and completed 94 per cent of his passes, including three key passes which was the most of any player in the game. He had eight touches in the opposition box and 20 open play final third passes – again more than any other player as per StatsBomb.
Jobe had the most progressive carries for Sunderland and was one of five in red and white to have more pressures than Cardiff’s highest ranked players (Ryan Wintle and Callum O’Dowda with 19). Only Hume had more tackles than Jobe while the 18-year-old had the highest open play xG chain at 1.56, the highest on-ball-value (OBV) at 1.13 and highest dribble and carry value at 0.67 in what was as complete a performance as you are likely to see from an 18-year-old self-professed as still being unsure where his best position is.
It’s sometimes taken for granted what we have seen from Jobe this season.
With the rise and stardom of his brother Jude, who continues to excel for Real Madrid and England, Jobe was keen to forge his own path out of Birmingham and carve his own career, with Sunderland the beneficiaries so far.
Although Jobe is never likely to truly shake the comparisons to his brother – particularly given Jude’s continued affiliation to Sunderland having attended a number of games this season in support of his sibling, as well as several social media posts sporting a Sunderland shirt with his brother’s name on the back – he has made great strides in his debut campaign.
The teenager has been the target of some criticisms this season – something which has been borne out of both frustration from supporters at the way this season has transpired and by virtue of the unfair reliance placed upon the 18-year-old.
But this was a real coming of age display from the younger Bellingham. Although he may still ponder where his best position lies, the centre-forward berth is his until the end of the season now with Jobe desperate to continue honing his craft and developing.
“It’s a target of mine to get 10 goals,” he says. “I spoke at the start of the season about that and I keep practicing my finishing every day in training – it doesn’t always come off which can be frustrating, but you’ve just got to keep plugging away and that’s what it’s about; trying to improve and develop everyday which I’m trying to do.
“It feels like a weight off the shoulders but it’s a big performance most of all because it can almost unnerve you when you win and haven’t performed well,” he adds on the win over Cardiff. “We’ve performed really well there and we’ve won which is a great reward because we’ve performed well before and missed out – the opposite game with Cardiff at home was like that.
“It’s a big weight off the shoulders and we need to keep it going and make it a snowball effect.
“When you lose it’s the worst feeling because you’re responsible for however many people are watching at home and in the stands and they travel so far. It’s just unbelievable what they do – I’d say it’s the best support in the country, it’s the best I’ve seen and it’s a pleasure to play in front of them.
“We’ve just go to keep that intensity because that is Sunderland for me; an intense, passionate, young team who gets in your face and tries to turn you around and get you running back to your own goal and we definitely did that.”
Maybe this is just the beginning of Jobe Bellingham, the striker.
Read the rules here