Borussia Dortmund signs Jobe Bellingham, Real Madrid star Jude’s younger brother.

DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — The Bellingham name is back at Borussia Dortmund.

Jobe Bellingham signed a five-year-deal on Tuesday with the German club where his older brother developed into one of the world’s best midfielders before joining Real Madrid in 2023.

The younger Bellingham, 19, then took part in his first training session with his new teammates. He left Sunderland just over two weeks after helping it win promotion back to the Premier League. He reportedly turned down an offer from Eintracht Frankfurt.

“Jobe is an extremely talented footballer with an impressive level of maturity and intelligence on the pitch for someone so young,” Dortmund managing director for sport Lars Ricken said. “We have no doubt that he’s the perfect fit for our philosophy of developing talented youngsters and giving them the opportunity to improve and establish themselves at the highest level.”

Following in his brother’s footsteps

Dortmund is evidently hoping Bellingham can have the same impact at the club as his brother, who almost led the club to a Bundesliga title in 2023. Dortmund failed in the final game with Jude Bellingham watching from the sideline as he couldn’t play.

“We’ve known Jobe for several years, and of course we have followed his progress very closely,” Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl said. “He has taken another huge step forward in his development over the last year, and even at the age of 19 he has become a real leader.”

Just like Jude, Jobe Bellingham is a central midfielder who likes to get forward and support attacks.

Jobe has followed in his brother’s footsteps by coming through the Birmingham City academy and making his senior debut at the age of 16 in 2022. He’s also played for England Under-21s.

There are a couple of differences between the Bellinghams, too.

Jobe is two years older than Jude was when he signed for Dortmund in 2020, and he also has experience of playing a center-forward role in a handful of games for Sunderland.

His performances for Sunderland in the second-division Championship this season saw Bellingham named the league’s young player of the year in April and named in its team of the season.

Bellingham joins a Dortmund team which narrowly secured Champions League qualification for next season by rising to fourth place on the final day of the Bundesliga.

Debut at the Club World Cup

Bellingham is eligible for Dortmund’s opening group-stage games this month at the Club World Cup in the United States. He will wear No. 77 at the tournament, Dortmund said.

Dortmund starts against Brazil’s Fluminense on June 17 followed by Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa on June 21 and South Korea’s Ulsan HD four days after that.

“We’re delighted that we were able to complete this deal before the FIFA Club World Cup so that we can see Jobe in our colors for the first time in the United States,” Kehl said.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer