They sit 12th in the Premier League, level on points with 13th placed Crystal Palace, who lost 2-1 to Everton over the weekend. They are set to battle Spurs for a highly-rated Championship midfielder.
Tottenham and Palace set to bid for Jobe Bellingham
Jobe Bellingham – who is the brother of England and Real Madrid star Jude – has impressed in the Championship this season for Sunderland, making 29 appearances, with four goals and three assists. He has helped Regis Le Bris’ side to fourth in the league after 33 games.
In the January transfer window, reports emerged linking Bellingham to several Premier League clubs including Tottenham, Palace and Arsenal, suggesting that the trio could make a move for him in the summer transfer window. Former Tottenham scout Mick Brown believes that Sunderland will listen to offers for the 19-year-old, and that if a big enough bid is made, the likes of Spurs could sign him in summer.
He told Football Insider: “I think Sunderland would let him go if they got a good price for him. Especially if they don’t get promoted this season, they’re going to listen to offers.
“Crystal Palace and Tottenham have had scouts watching him this season so they’ll be two of the teams in the running if he is going to leave. So it’ll be up to them to assess whether he’s ready to make that jump. From a Sunderland point of view, knowing the way the owners want to operate, I think if they get a huge bid for him then they’ll let him go.”
Sunderland are believed to value Bellingham at around the £30m mark, but come the end of the season, the Black Cats could place a much bigger price tag on him – should they get promoted.
How would Bellingham fit at Tottenham or Palace?
Spurs’ mantra when signing players over the past few years, is to develop them into first team stars, Bellingham could be the latest such player. In midfield, Postecoglou currently plays the likes of Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison and Yves Bissouma. Bellingham would have a lot of competition initially, but he could gradually work his way into the team.
He can play both as a more attacking midfielder and a defensive one, which could be very beneficial for a Tottenham side who have struggled for depth this season due to their injury problems.
Meanwhile, if he was to join Crystal Palace, it would be easier for Bellingham to get into the first team, as he would be competing with the likes of Will Hughes, Jefferson Lerma, Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada.
Not only could Bellingham get into the team immediately, but he could also become the main star midfielder as Adam Wharton has recently been subject to reports linking him with a move to Tottenham. If Wharton was to leave Selhurst Park, they would need to find a replacement which could come in the form of Bellingham.
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