Interest in Sunderland starlet Jobe Bellingham is heating up ahead of the summer transfer window.
Following a well-documented £3million move from Birmingham City last summer, Bellingham is really starting to blossom for Sunderland.
The 18-year-old has now scored seven goals in 41 Championship outings for the Black Cats.
He’s been a mainstay in the team throughout the campaign and has played in a variety of roles, though it seems like Mike Dodds is starting to prefer Bellingham as a no.9.
At the end of last year, it was claimed that Chelsea and Spurs were keeping tabs on Bellingham’s situation.
Lazio were then linked in January, and the Italian club have been linked again more recently, as we edge towards the summer transfer window.
Jobe Bellingham Sunderland wages
Sunderland run a tight ship when it comes to wages.
According to Salary Sport, Bradley Dack is the club’s highest-earning player on £18,000-a-week, whilst Bellingham apparently brings home £8,100-a-week.
Per the same source, Lazio shell out £122,000-a-week for striker Ciro Immobile, so wages for Bellingham may not be an issue.
Jobe Bellingham Sunderland contract
Sunderland are proving to be pretty shrewd operators when it comes to contracts, often extending players’ deals long before they’re set to expire.
Aji Alese is the latest player to sign an extended contract with the club, with his original deal running until the end of next season.
Bellingham’s official contract length has never been officially revealed.
The club simply stated that Bellingham signed a long-term deal when he joined from Birmingham City, but widespread reports prior to his arrival suggested that he was set to pen a four-year contact at the Stadium of Light, keeping him under contract until 2027.
Jobe Bellingham transfer value
Sunderland are yet to place a price tag on Bellingham suggesting that the club has no interest in selling just yet.
But names like Anthony Patterson and Jack Clarke have both been tipped to cost £20million or more this summer.
Bellingham has less than half the experience of the pair and is a few years younger, too, so a realistic transfer value for him may be around £10million, or possibly less.
Should Real Madrid want to sign him and reunite him with his brother Jude, the value may rise as for Madrid, it would be as much of a publicity stunt as an actual signing.
Transfermarkt value Bellingham at £7.7million.
Jobe Bellingham to Lazio analysis
Lazio seem like just one of the clubs interested in Bellingham right now.
Chelsea and Spurs seem to have previous interest but Lazio certainly seem to be the most, and more recently interested team right now.
There’s been murmurings of Real Madrid being keen, though how realistic that might be remains to be seen.
And interest is definitely a commendation to Bellingham for his impressive first season at Sunderland, and to the Black Cats too for their nouse in the transfer market.
He’s had his critics. There’s certainly room for improvement too, but this season and the exposure that Bellingham has had will certainly serve him well in the long run.
He’s gained a huge amount of experience this season and his seven goals is perhaps more than a lot of people were expecting.
But, being under a long-term deal and still being so young and fresh in the game, it feels like a big transfer move this coming summer would be way too soon for Bellingham.
He arguably doesn’t even know his best position yet, which shows how much developing and nurturing there is still to do.
But it can’t be ignored that, if Sunderland receive a suitable offer for Bellingham in the summer, whatever price that might be at, they’d listen.
It all depends on Lazio and whichever other team might be interested.
But right now, Bellingham leaving this summer doesn’t feel all too likely.