Bellingham had only played in the championship before his arrival at Dortmund and had to deal with extremely high expectations from the get-go.
Dortmund paid the same transfer fee for him as they did for his brother Jude when he joined in 2020.
Jude is considered a generational talent at the age of 17 after a full season with Birmingham City. Meanwhile, Jobe – albeit given several years at Birmingham and Sunderland. He needs a longer path to get to DOTRTMund.
And yet Drtmund made sure to point out that the essay could turn history itself.
The three-year run with Judas was a win-win for everyone. He almost immediately established himself as one of the most promising midfielders in the Bundesliga and eventually left for Real Madrid after a great spell for a record transfer fee.
Perhaps expectations for the younger brother were too high in August, especially following Bellingham’s performances at the Club World Cup. The fall happened quickly, but so did his rise.
In the games after the loss to Bayern Munich, Bellingham began to impress even more, although he was still a substitute in the Bundesliga.
He played 120 minutes against Eintracht Frankfurt in the German cup, as Drtmund ran to a penalty shootout on enemy soil and advanced to the next round.
Even his effort against Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Friday went unnoticed. Dortmund tried to sail home with a 1-0 lead and Bellingham made sure to deny some of Augsburg’s offensive attempts.
“I think things will go faster than even I could imagine, because the kid has a lot of quality,” Kovac said after Friday’s game.
There’s a realistic chance that in time, Bellingham will become a regular starter in Dortmund’s central midfield.
Sititzer didn’t set the world on fire as a player. And gross, while respected and always reliable – as Brighton fans can testify – 34 and will not force every game.
Dortmund may not get a jude-like jude, but with patience, the younger Bellingham can become a success story.