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Jobe Bellingham has been reassured that his slow start at Borussia Dortmund is normal amid pressure from off-field headlines.
The 20-year-old followed brother Jude in moving to the Bundesliga giants this summer, but hasn’t enjoyed the same instant impact.
Jobe has featured in all six of Dortmund’s matches this season but has so far struggled to cement himself as a regular in the starting XI.
The ex-Birmingham City academy graduate has started just twice under Niko Kovac, with his minutes reduced with each appearance.
He is yet to complete a full 90 minutes for Dortmund while clocking up a total of just 167 minutes in the German top-flight.
On Jobe’s increasingly infrequent gametime, Kovac claimed the teen ‘isn’t doing himself any favours’ amid strong competition for places.
However, talkSPORT’s European football journalist, Andy Brassell, has sympathised with the former Sunderland star’s teething problems.
“I think it’s completely normal, to be honest,” he said exclusively to talkSPORT.com while discussing Jobe’s slow start in Germany.
“I think the biggest millstone around his neck, and he signed up for this, is the fact that he’s a Bellingham at Dortmund.
“He can wear what he wants on the back of the shirt, but everyone knows he’s Jude’s younger brother. And you only need to look at him to know that.
“But what we’re really facing is a player who hasn’t yet played in a top league, much less for a Champions League team that’s aiming to grab some titles soon. There’s a significant amount of pressure here, too.
You’re considering someone who, regardless of his name or potential, is arriving to compete with seasoned, well-compensated athletes, and that’s a challenging situation.”
Bellingham’s father had ’emotional’ exchange with Dortmund executive
In September 2020, Jude Bellingham marked his Bundesliga debut with an assist en route to winning the league’s Rookie of the Month.
Five years later, Jobe wasn’t afforded the chance to do the same after being hauled off at half-time on the opening day of the season.
Jobe’s father, Mark, even held a heated discussion with Borussia Dortmund’s sporting director, Sebastien Kehl, after the 3-3 draw.
BVB’s CEO for sport, Lars Ricken, later revealed the club will subsequently limit locker room access to avoid similar incidents.
Brassell noted: “Apparently, there was an incident where his parents went down to the changing room, and his dad expressed dissatisfaction. First, about Jobe being substituted at halftime, and second, because Dortmund’s performance wasn’t impressive.
“I can’t believe he would be blind to the optics of that, to be honest, because it’s just put so much pressure on Jobe, really.
With Jude, it’s evident that he stands on his own merits. He had such immense talent that whatever was going on around him didn’t really affect his ability to handle everything on the field.”
When discussing meeting the expectations set by Jude Bellingham’s stature at Dortmund, it’s just not feasible to compare.
Jude Bellingham wasn’t just an exceptional player for Dortmund over three years; he embodied multiple roles within the squad. He was a thoroughly complete midfielder, a once-in-a-generation talent, and a leader.”
“You look at the way he conducted the crowd, and he does that at Real Madrid as well, for goodness’ sake. I mean, what player goes to Real Madrid and conducts the crowd? It’s amazing.
“So to go from being a player of promise to that level, it’s a huge leap. And I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect that.
“Now, of course, what his dad did in intervening after his Bundesliga debut, it’s not just embarrassing a little bit because you best believe the other players would have been ripping it out of him off the back of that. I’m sure they’ll all have been laughing about it.
“It’s just he’s trying to be his own man, as we’ve seen from what he’s got on the back of his shirt.
“All of a sudden, just in case you’re unaware, he’s a Bellingham.
“His dad’s down there in the dressing room, going, ‘OK, what’s going on with my son?’”
To expect what they got from Jude is ridiculous
Dortmund snapped up the elder Bellingham at 17, and generated a huge profit with his transfer to Real Madrid three years later.
He became the club’s youngest captain aged 19 and was named the Bundesliga’s player of the season in his final campaign in Germany.
His younger sibling played a key role in Sunderland‘s promotion to the Premier League before sealing a £31million move to Dortmund.
Jobe enjoyed an encouraging start in the Club World Cup, scoring in a 4-3 victory over Mamelodi Sundowns.
But the England U21 international is yet to register a goal or assist across any of his seven appearances in all competitions this season.
“I do feel that Jobe just needs a little bit of space,” Brassell continued on talkSPORT.
“In terms of what he’ll be getting, at the moment, from Niko Kovac, he’s very demanding on his players, very demanding in terms of how physical they need to be as well.
“There’s a little step up that he needs to take, and it will take a while. And like I said, he is competing with some storied players.
“Marcel Sabitzer and Felix Nmecha, who couldn’t get in the team at the start of the season, despite costing 30 million euros, by the way, and was already a proven Bundesliga player, Nmecha.
“So they start the game, and it’s not obvious at the moment where he starts. Look, he will start games. They’ve got tonnes more games.
“They’ll get injuries. He’ll play plenty. But to expect from him what they got from Jude, it’s ridiculous.”
