Jude's star has continued to rise, and only a shoulder injury has kept him from being fully immersed in Real Madrid's 2025/26 league season so far.
For club and country, the 22-year-old has become a focal point and mainstay, and when taking his age into account, that's already some legacy in such a short space of time.
Jobe Bellingham following Jude's pathway
The England international was signed by Los Blancos from Borussia Dortmund, a breeding ground for brilliant young players, and where his younger brother Jobe (20) is currently plying his trade.
Unlike Jude, however, Jobe isn't having the best time of it at Signal Iduna Park.
After helping Sunderland get promoted from the English Championship to the Premier League for the first time in eight years, playing 43 games in their 2024/25 season and scoring four goals as well as assisting three more, things have gone rapidly downhill.
In seven games so far in the 2025/26 season for Dortmund, he's only started two, played just 212 minutes - equivalent to approximately two and a half total games - and has neither scored nor assisted.
Family issues to blame for poor form?
Sources in Germany suggest that his poor form actually has nothing to do with his football.
"It’s obvious to the management that Jobe is struggling with personal matters," one was quoted as saying.
“He has struggled to make friends in the team, rarely goes out socialising in Dortmund and spends most of his time in his house alone. The atmosphere and tension in the family is affecting his performances on the pitch.
“At the recent match his parents attended they came and left alone and didn’t speak once. There are worries that Jobe feels very insecure and pressurised by what is going on.”
The human side is one that footballers rarely discuss, so having family matters aired in public is bound to affect someone so young.
Man Utd set to take advantage of Jobe's current situation?
It can't have helped that Jobe's father, Mark Bellingham, confronted Dortmund sporting director, Sebastien Kehl, in the tunnel at half-time during a match in August because of his son's substitution, an action that has forced the club to now ensure that all family members are banned from the tunnel area.
Perhaps that family upheaval is partly behind why Manchester United are apparently already circling for the younger Bellingham's services.
Whilst it's still too early to discuss transfer fees and the like, it's easy to understand why Ruben Amorim might want to bring Jobe back to English shores.
The youngster's dynamism in midfield would be a perfect accompaniment to the more creative and technical Bruno Fernandes, whilst his physicality in and out of possession would be welcomed.
If there's one thing that has defined Amorim's United, it's that they're far too easy to play against most of the time. Having a player that's happy to put his foot in, who can break at pace and who has decent passing attributes to boot is something that the Red Devils have been crying out for.
Brilliant final season at Sunderland
During his final season at the Black Cats, Bellingham had a very healthy 85.7% pass accuracy, completing 1454 from 1697 attempted. This actually went up to 89.9% for passes made in his own half.
From an attacking point of view, his 551 total carries included 88 separate occasions where he made 10+ progressive carries in a game, he won possession back an incredible 158 times in the mid-third of the pitch, enabling him to start another attack, whilst successfully managing 37 take-ons of his direct opponent himself.
A shot accuracy of 32.1% and conversion rate of just 7.4% could obviously be improved upon, but there's a genuine argument that this isn't and has never been the main part of his game.
Jobe's 493 attempted one-on-ones and 168 aerial duels evidence a player well up for the heat of battle in the middle of the park, too.
79 tackles attempted, 94 ground clearances, 52 headed clearances and 37 interceptions made also denote that the younger Bellingham is following in his elder brother's footsteps in terms of the all-round nature of his game and what he's able to bring to bear in the heat of battle.
Frustration could lead to a January loan
That is arguably why there is a lot of frustration around him not being allowed to flourish under Niko Kovac, with seemingly no logical reason given by the manager or the club at this stage as to why the youngster has been a peripheral figure.
Assuming the status quo remains, then a January loan to the Old Trafford outfit might not be the worst outcome for everyone. However, Bellingham will have to hit the ground running if he wants to have any chance of earning a permanent contract at one of the most storied clubs in world football.
