It has to be difficult being Jobe Bellingham. Second-sibling syndrome must be severe indeed when your older brother has instantly become the star turn at Real Madrid after a blockbuster summer transfer.
But the younger Bellingham is certainly worthy of recognition in his own right. He too was on the move this summer, switching boyhood Birmingham City for Sunderland — with two goals to his name, the 18-year-old has made a strong first impression.
Emphasizing the trickiness of his position, when Jobe Bellingham was previously linked to Liverpool by the Mirror, many assumed it was all part of a play to eventually land Jude. But even with his brother now out of reach, FSG will surely be keeping tabs following the Sunderland switch.
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One place where Jobe Bellingham is out of the shadow of his sibling is on the Scouted50, a recently published list of some of the biggest ‘wonderkids’ in world football. Ranking at 33rd, he is tipped with ‘the talent to be one of the Championship’s best’.
The criteria were relatively simple: players must have been born in 2003 or later and must have a reasonable chance of ‘significant first-team impact’ this season. The overall ceiling was also considered alongside current ability, while only ‘breakout’ talents were considered — hence why Jude Bellingham, remarkably still eligible based on age, was not on the list.
If Jobe Bellingham did ultimately come to Liverpool, he would be joining a highly promising generation. FSG has had a laser focus on domestic youth talent in recent transfer windows, signing the likes of Harvey Elliott, Fábio Carvalho and Bobby Clark, to name a few.
Shooting up that list is Ben Doak. He’s also well up the Scouted wonderkids list, ranking in 15th. By definition, that means he’s been tipped for ‘significant impact’ at Liverpool this season: a big vote of confidence, given the attacking talent ahead of him.
Yet Jürgen Klopp would surely concur. In the very first game of the season against Chelsea, the manager drew the wrath of Mohamed Salah by replacing the Egyptian with Doak with a chunk of time still left to play. That has not been repeated, but the Scot started in the Europa League and League Cup against LASK and then Leicester, and can expect more minutes in both competitions.
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![Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.](https://i2-prod.liverpoolecho.co.uk/incoming/article28219150.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/0_GettyImages-1748470251.jpg)
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It’s far too early to say whether Doak, born in late 2005, has what it takes to ultimately fill the Salah role full-time. The Scouted50, however, apparently has no such reservations: “There’s every reason to expect that he’s Liverpool’s replacement for Mohamed Salah not only in the long run, but for this season too.”
Hyperbole aside, it’s clear that Doak is very exciting. So far, all that has been lacking is end product — something he humorously acknowledged when he said Jarell Quansah was ‘showing him how it’s done’ after registering an assist against Leicester.
But Doak will know that the competition for places is unlikely to let up. Whatever the future holds for Salah, there will be more names through the door: Bellingham himself has played as a forward, while another Liverpool-linked name on the Scouted50 list falls squarely into the category of potential heirs to the Egyptian King.
Johan Bakayoko of PSV is placed eighth on the list. He was linked with a transfer to Liverpool by Football Insider this summer, and it was an obvious link amid the Salah speculation. A left-footed right-winger, the 20-year-old Belgian is a neat stylistic fit.
It’s a tricky situation for FSG to navigate. Liverpool will not want to block Doak’s pathway, but nor will Klopp necessarily be ready to rely on the teenager as a direct Salah replacement in the medium term.
But whether or not Bakayoko or Bellingham come back into the spotlight, it’s fair to assume there will be transfer links with many of the players on the Scouted50. Liverpool has shown a real commitment to youth recruitment, with Doak one of the jewels in that burgeoning crown: his place on this list is well-merited.