Jobe Bellingham: position and style of play

As the 2024/25 Championship season unfolds, Jobe Bellingham and his Sunderland teammates have been very much in the race for promotion. Whatever happens in this particular campaign, however, it seems only a matter of time before Bellingham is playing Premier League football, one way or another.

Born in the West Midlands town of Stourbridge in 2005, Bellingham is two years younger than his brother Jude. Their parents, Denise and Mark, had the pleasure of seeing Jobe become Birmingham City’s second-youngest ever player, when he made his debut at the age of 16 years and 107 days. That made him just 69 days older than Jude had been when he set the record on his own Blues debut.

Like his brother, Jobe opted to leave St Andrews at the age of 17. In his case, it was a move to Sunderland in June 2023, with 26 appearances for Birmingham under his belt. He immediately established himself in the first team at his new club, playing 47 games in the 2023/24 season and earning a contract extension in August 2024. 

At international level, Bellingham has so far earned caps for England at every age group up to Under-21s. At the same time, stories have unsurprisingly persisted of interest from Premier League clubs. Below, our team of UEFA-licensed coaches have analysed his game, including the positions he has played, his technical attributes and style of play. 

Technical analysis

Jobe Bellingham is a versatile right-footed midfielder who emerged at Birmingham as an attacking midfielder – a role he initially played for Sunderland. He has since played in central midfield for the Black Cats, and as a deeper, defensive midfielder, typically in a double pivot. This level of versatility at such a young age has been his biggest strength to date.

Despite his positional changes, Bellingham has almost exclusively operated in the central spaces. His strong frame allows him to compete in the busiest areas of the pitch, where he can hide, protect and secure the ball. He has also demonstrated a deft touch and turn in central spaces, initially protecting the ball before twisting away from pressure.

His composure in tight spaces is equally impressive, allied with the awareness to pick out a pass (below). For a teenager, his passing accuracy levels have been noteworthy, while developing his ability to not only keep possession, but also play penetrating passes. Both will be important aspects of his game if he continues to play a deeper role.

He can also drive forward with the ball, particularly as a number eight in a three-player midfield. He is fond of using a disguised touch with his left foot, then faking a chop back on to his right – something he uses to penetrate into space. Higher up the pitch, working the ball to his favoured foot opens opportunities to shoot from just outside the penalty area. A disguised chop, pushing the ball the opposite way, has frequently helped him to evade his marker.

When operating in a deeper role or dropping to collect, Bellingham has used a variety of receiving methods. His preference is to receive on the half-turn, ideally bursting away from his opponent with bigger touches. His movements prior to receiving passes when deeper, as well as the touches he takes, are usually aimed at driving away with the ball. He is, however, developing more delicate methods of receiving. With these comes the versatility needed to play that deeper role with even more success.

When dropping to bounce a pass, typically from a centre-back, both the angle he creates and his timing are good. He could look to add an immediate secondary movement, though, to allow him to quickly receive the ball back when his initial opponent has overcommitted during a press. It would also be a good habit to consistently offer an immediate angle after passing, especially when operating inside his own half. That said, his delicate passes around the corner into a fellow central midfielder (below), have helped to break presses and enable play into the front line.

Out of possession

Without the ball, Bellingham duels and competes like a much more experienced player. He throws himself into 50/50s with great commitment, and uses his body to jostle or bump for possession. His reaction to losing the ball – whether himself or a teammate – has generally been very good. In fact, his reactions in these moments is where he often shows his best defensive attribute. When an opponent drives in the central spaces in an attacking transition, Bellingham has the athleticism to recover back and the tactical nous to cut off direct access towards his own goal. There, he can lunge and duel on the ground, using his body to step across opponents and win a free-kick, so stopping the transition.

When he wins the ball and isn’t fouled, he can twist or burst away from his opponent, launching a counter-attack (below). This particular part of his game should only get better as he moves towards the peak age for a central midfielder. Added maturity will mean he can do it more often and against better opposition.

Attacking midfield

For Sunderland, Bellingham has operated as a number 10 in a 4-2-3-1, and a number eight in a 4-3-3. As a number 10, he has demonstrated his ability to receive between the lines and, whenever possible, drive forward with the ball with purpose. He has often moved towards his deeper teammates to link the play, allowing others to rotate around or inside his movements. In the 2023/24 season he was used much higher, with opposite runs coming from central midfield, or more commonly from wingers such as Jack Clarke, Patrick Roberts and Abdoullah Ba.

Bellingham’s drifting dovetailed with the wingers inverting and receiving on the move, or dribbling inside after receiving wide. He was typically supported with secondary movements around these rotations, but they didn't often put him in goalscoring positions. As a result, he became more of a linking 10, as opposed to directly threatening the goal.

His goal threat increased, however, when playing as a number eight on the left of a midfield three in a 4-3-3. Despite being right-footed, he seems to prefer receiving and playing in the left inside channel. There, he can cut inside to combine, as well as create crosses or switches across the box. When starting as a deeper eight – compared to the nine or 10 positions he also started in – his goal threat has actually increased. Here, he can arrive in the box with well-timed runs, which made him harder to mark. His powerful shooting has also lent itself more to running on to the ball.

As an eight, he can also fake attempts on his left, before creating on his right side with his trademark move. As a result, opponents have attempted to limit his cuts and chops back on to his right side by getting much tighter when he receives. In those cases, he has the ability to roll inside, complementing the overlapping runs from left-back Dennis Cirkin and inward movements from winger Romaine Mundle (below). They have formed a key attacking trio for Sunderland in their 2024/25 campaign.

Defensive midfield

In addition to his number-eight role, Bellingham has played as a double pivot in the 4-2-3-1 shape used by Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris. This has involved being much deeper on average, with more protecting, covering and supporting of the central defence. With the ball, Bellingham has driven much more when starting deeper – especially with Sunderland’s attacking unit ahead often looking to run away from the ball, stretching beyond the opposition.

In the double pivot, Bellingham again seems to prefer supporting and playing from the left side. His combinations with Cirkin and Mundle have been maintained even when he has operated deeper. Inward movements from Cirkin have allowed Bellingham to drive forward, with the left-back taking the opposing winger away from the double-pivot spaces. Mundle holding the width has then given Bellingham a wide passing option, while Cirkin has provided an option between the lines. Supporting angles inside from his double-pivot partner, Dan Neil, have allowed Bellingham to work play back across the pitch when needed, switching to the wide triangle on the other side (below).

Although often beginning in a double pivot within a 4-2-3-1, Bellingham has often run forward from deep, almost becoming a second eight or 10 in the final third. It is this adaptability and variety of qualities that has made Bellingham competitive in midfield at senior level, despite still being in his teens.

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