Jobe Bellingham was spotted at the Champions League final with one of his Sunderland colleagues.
Jobe Bellingham took the long trip south for yesterday’s Champions League final as his brother Jude lifted Real Madrid’s 15th trophy in the competition.
The midfielder started as Real Madrid claimed a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund, before Jobe and his parents were brought onto the pitch to celebrate with him.
The 18-year-old was shown sat in the crowd alongside his parents on TV, but it also appeared that he had brought someone from Sunderland along with him.
Mike Dodds joins Bellingham family at Wembley
As per journalist James Copley, Jobe was spotted sandwiched between his parents and no other than Mike Dodds.
The 37-year-old has worked with the teenager since he joined the club last summer, but already knew him from his time as an academy coach at Birmingham City.
Dodds joined Birmingham in 2009 and spent a large chunk of his coaching career there, stepping up as academy manager in 2020.
He helped bring both Bellingham brothers through to the senior team, with Jude previously heaping praise on the coach.
Last year, he said: “He’s done everything for me really. He’s developed me as a player and also a person really since I was a kid, and he’s moulded the person that I am today.
“A lot of the reason why I play the way that I do is because of him. I’m very grateful to him for what he’s done for me and how he’s been the way I am. When I first started working with Mike, he was someone who accepted you for who you were. He never tried to change you and I think that’s the most important thing.”
Having been a regular under Dodds in the second half of the campaign, Jobe cheered on Jude at Wembley Stadium with the coach.
Jobe and Dodds’ relationship could be bad news for Sunderland
It is great to see such a relationship between coach and player at Sunderland, however it may well be bad news for the club.
The Black Cats could struggle to bring in a new manager if they can’t bring in their own coaching staff to replace Dodds and co.
However, if the club were to part ways with him, then that might also encourage Jobe to leave.
The midfielder has already beenlinked with Crystal Palace and Brentford, but he obviously looks up to Dodds a lot and believe she can continue to develop under him.
If Sunderland were to get rid of him, then Jobe could be tempted to follow him out the door.
It is a tough balancing act for the Wearside outfit, as they don’t want to miss out on manager targets just to keep Dodds around.