Jobe Bellingham has opened up on his move to Borussia Dortmund after scoring his first goal for the club.
Earlier this month Bellingham joined Dortmund from Sunderland for an initial fee of £27.8million plus £4million in add-ons, and he is currently representing the German club at the Club World Cup.
Bellingham scored his first goal for Dortmund on Saturday as he found the net against Mamelodi Sundowns in a 4-3 victory in the group stages.
The 19-year-old is following in the footsteps of his brother Jude by signing for Dortmund.
Jude played for Dortmund between 2020 and 2023 prior to joining Real Madrid.
Jobe revealed that he is settling in well at Dortmund following his move.
Bellingham told FIFA: ‘It’s really good actually. I met the boys and signed before I flew out. So, I feel like I’m starting to really settle in with the team. Obviously, it’s tough signing for a new club and then flying away straight away, but a lot of people have made it as easy as possible for me. So, to be honest, it’s been really enjoyable.’
The midfielder also discussed the fact that he has his first name ‘Jobe’ on the back of his shirt rather than ‘Bellingham’.
Bellingham stated that he enjoys having his first name on his shirt as it is ‘unique’ and ‘quite cool’.
He said: ‘Well, if I’m being really honest, obviously, it started when I first signed for Sunderland. I, maybe, thought about it a few times. I thought: Yeah, that would be quite cool. But, only when people brought it up to me. I never thought about it like spontaneously on my own.
‘Someone close to me would say: ‘That would be cool if you did that’. And then, someone who’s quite special to me – a coach that I had at Sunderland and at Birmingham when I was a kid – he said: ‘Why don’t you do that at Sunderland?’. And, just because I was young, I thought: It would be cool to have my own name on the back of my shirt. So, it was more that than anything (else).
‘I wasn’t really trying to have a deeper meaning behind it, but I suppose you can find that in that act. But yeah, I think it’s quite unique and it’s quite cool, and it’s something that I enjoy having.’
Furthermore, Bellingham disclosed that he is inspired by players such as Premier League legends Patrick Vieira and Steven Gerrard.
He said: ‘Even [Diego] Maradona’s documentary is amazing, but there’s nothing I can learn from him because he’s too good. But, yeah, players like – even Patrick Vieira. I didn’t really get to – obviously, I didn’t get to watch him at all. I watch a lot of clips of him, which is strange really, because I always thought he was more defensive, but it turns out that he does everything really.
‘And I watch players in that position, and now like a six or a box midfielder. So, even Gerrard I’m watching all the time, and loads of other midfield players as well.’
