Fabrizio Romano has dropped a fresh claim on the future of Sunderland midfielder Jobe Bellingham.
Jobe Bellingham joined Sunderland from Birmingham City in the summer, having only made five senior starts in his career so far.
The youngster has established himself as a regular at Wearside though, and as a result, has caught the attention of various clubs across Europe.
It was reported very early in his stay at the Stadium of Light that Real Madrid had sent scouts to watch him play for England U19s, while the likes of Tottenham and Newcastle United had been linked.
Jobe has been heavily criticised in recent months as he continues to be picked by Mike Dodds despite his poor form, but that hasn’t prevented interest in his signature.
The latest reports have claimed he is now a target for Serie A clubs, with Lazio eager to snap him up after failing to land Jack Clarke in January.
Fabrizio Romano has now published an update on Jobe’s future ahead of the summer transfer window.
Writing in The Daily Briefing, Romano said: “Another name to watch is surely going to be Jude Bellingham’s younger brother Jobe Bellingham, who is impressing at Sunderland.
“I really like him. I personally view him as an excellent talent – he’s a serious guy and a hard worker as well. I’m sure his future will be bright.
“For him to be similar to Jude is going to be difficult, as it would be for everyone as he’s a generational player, but Jobe is really talented and good. We will see what happens in the summer, it’s quiet so far but scouts are obviously monitoring him closely.”
Could Jobe Bellingham join Real Madrid?
Jobe Bellingham clearly has bags of potential and could eventually play in the Premier League, but big clubs such as Real Madrid are undoubtedly jumping the gun if they sign him.
The teenager’s disappointing form certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed by Sunderland fans, but because he is Jude’s brother, clubs remain desperate to sign him. Though perhaps that is just to keep Jude happy.
If Jobe does reach his potential then he will certainly leave Wearside, but it would be a silly idea for all parties if he moved to one of these big clubs this summer. He is far from ready to make that jump up, while I don’t think he handles the pressure of living up to expectations very well. He needs to avoid being the focus of everyone’s attention for a while, and Sunderland aren’t exactly helping him do that either.