Jobe Bellingham: Meet the talented Sunderland rising star

When Newcastle United face Sunderland in the FA Cup, one of the Black Cats’ most dangerous players will be Jobe Bellingham.

He is the younger brother of England international and Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham, and the 18-year-old has made a big impression this season since leaving Birmingham City and signing for Sunderland.

Bellingham has been a regular in the Championship, and looks certain to start the Tyne-Wear derby against Newcastle United in the FA Cup. He has already spoke about how much he is looking forward to the game, and now it is finally here.

There are nerves across Wearside and Tyneside, while Bellingham is likely preparing for what could be the biggest game of his career. But if things had gone differently last summer, he could be wearing black and white instead of red and white.

According to the Daily Mail, Newcastle held talks with Jobe Bellingham last summer about moving to St James’ Park. They add that the Magpies were keen to add the teenager to their youth setup, which has been massively bolstered since Dan Ashworth began his role as Sporting Director.

However, the Daily Mail state that Bellingham wanted guaranteed first-team football, which is why he decided to opt for a move to Sunderland instead.

That decision has certainly paid off, as he has featured in 26 of the Black Cats’ 27 games this season. However, you could argue that he would have got minutes at Newcastle too due to all of the injuries!

Interestingly, the Daily Mail add that Newcastle continue to monitor Bellingham’s progress, and they will be able to see him up close and personal on Saturday.

In truth, they will probably hope that the youngster fails to rise to the occasion as this is a massive game for Newcastle United. It will have a huge impact on how the rest of the season plays out, while questions about Eddie Howe’s future will become even louder if Newcastle are dumped out of the FA Cup by Bellingham and co.