Joey Barton’s ‘brilliant’ Jobe Bellingham verdict will shock Sunderland fans
Joey Barton has made a surprising admission about former Sunderland midfielder Jobe Bellingham.
Sunderland are gearing up for their first season back in the Premier League since 2016, and after the sale of Jobe, they will have significant funds available to bolster their squad.
His move to Borussia Dortmund was well reported, and for the Black Cats, it represented good value for money given the fee to sign him initially.
However, throughout his time at Sunderland, Jobe was the subject of a series of debates among English football fans, and Barton is surprisingly supportive in a new claim made about the teenager.
Jobe comparisons were boring at Sunderland
Sunderland supporters were able to see just how good Jobe was throughout his time at the Stadium of Light, though the same cannot be said about those away from Wearside.
Instead, fans of several clubs formed an agenda against the talented midfielder and constantly compared him to his brother, Jude Bellingham.
In fact, Jack Rudoni was another ludicrous comparison, with many claiming that Jobe’s surname was the reason behind the heavy interest in him this summer.
| Sunderland | Games | Goals | Assists |
| Jobe | 41 | 4 | 3 |
However, Barton was having none of that, and instead sided with Sunderland supporters in defending the 19-year-old.
Via the Common Sense podcast, it was claimed that Jobe’s price tag was set because of the Bellingham name, to which Barton said: “Yeah, but also play more games than Jude by the time he got there.
“He’s a good player. Stop comparing them, you can’t compare the two of them. Jude is a top player, right? Top player, he was playing in Real Madrid’s first team at 18/19. His brother can still be a brilliant player.”
Now, to see Barton backing up Sunderland supporters is a massive, massive surprise given the relationship between the two, though it just shows how inaccurate the claims about Jobe really are.
Le Bris needs his Jobe replacement
As good and as crucial as Jobe was to Sunderland, his time on Wearside is over, and the Black Cats need to move on from it.
With the season less than two months away, identifying his replacement needs to be the number one priority, with several other areas of the squad also needing attention.
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