Jobe Bellingham explains Kristjaan Speakman’s role in Sunderland transfer and shock after Tony Mowbray’s exit

Jobe Bellingham says Sunderland’s sporting director Kristjaan Speakman always wanted to bring him to Wearside after leaving Birmingham.

Speakman joined the Black Cats in December 2020 and was aware of Bellingham’s potential as the teenager came through the Blues’ academy. Yet it wasn’t until this summer, after making 22 Championship appearances for Birmingham last term, that Bellingham felt the time was right to leave St Andrew’s.

The 18-year-old had also worked with Mike Dodds, who was academy manager at Birmingham and joined Sunderland in 2021, before moving to Wearside. 

When asked if Dodds and Speakman played a big part in his decision to join Sunderland, Bellingham told Sky Sports: “As soon as they left Birmingham I knew that they wanted to bring me with them. That was a few years back and I was quite convinced I had to stay at Birmingham because it was the club that I loved. As time went by I realised it was the best option from a footballing point of view rather than emotional to come to Sunderland.”

Bellingham has been a key player for Sunderland since moving to Wearside, starting the side’s first 18 league games under Tony Mowbray. The teenager was surprised to see the head coach sacked following this month’s 1-1 draw at Millwall but says he learnt a great deal in their short time working together.

“It’s been quite shocked,” replied Bellingham when asked about the reaction to Mowbray’s departure. “But I’d say we’ve tried to react as fast as possible just to focus on the game, like refocus because the games come thick and fast in this league.

“Obviously he’ll be a big miss as a person and more than anything around the place, especially for the fans as well, they absolutely love him. Us players loved playing under him because he was such a good person, very caring.

“He probably made me more of a mature player in a short space of time. The really important thing is taking away pressure so you just feel like you are going out, playing and expressing your talent, which is what he used to say a lot about expressing your talent.”

While he’s predominantly played as an advanced midfielder this season, Bellingham has also been deployed as a central striker and scored his fourth goal of the season in a 1-0 win over Leeds at the Stadium of Light.

When asked about his best position, the teenager replied: “To be honest I don’t really know. I know what I enjoy most, which is probably playing as a box-to-box midfielder. I can get on the ball and drive forward, and I think I can show more of what I’m capable of in that position. However, I do think I have a good skill set playing as a striker or a number 10, but I definitely enjoy playing as a box-to-box midfielder more.”

Sunderland’s win over Leeds kept the Black Cats sixth in the Championship table, ahead of Saturday’s trip to Bristol City.