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Jobe Bellingham has reportedly been struggling with ‘personal matters’ since his summer transfer from Sunderland to Borussia Dortmund.
Jobe, 20, completed an initial £27million move from Sunderland to Dortmund in June and penned a five-year deal with the Bundesliga club, following in his older brother Jude’s footsteps as he too used to play for the German outfit before his 2023 transfer to Real Madrid.
However, despite the excitement around the move and the feeling of almost inevitable success that comes with the Bellingham name, Jobe has struggled to nail down a starting place in Nico Kovac’s side.
The England youth international has been in mixed form since arriving in Germany and has failed to register a single goal or assist in nine appearances for Dortmund.
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Back in August, his German top-flight debut ended in disappointment when he was substituted at half-time of Dortmund’s draw away at St. Pauli, something which his father, Mark, was supposedly left furious by.
Following the match, Sky Germany reported that Mark was so annoyed that he addressed sporting director Sebastian Kehl about the treatment of his son.
Dortmund later released a statement on behalf of Kehl, which reminded people that the “active area is and remains reserved for players, coaches, and management, not families and advisors”.
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Other reports claimed that Mark had essentially been banned from the Dortmund dressing room.
BILD has since reported that Mark has continued to voice his frustrations about Jobe’s playing time to Kovac.
The 20-year-old appears to be down the midfield pecking order at the club behind the likes of Felix Nmecha, Marcel Sabitzer and Pascal Groß.
On Monday, a new report from the Mail claimed that ‘family issues’ are having an impact on the young Englishman.
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The report suggests that Mark and Jobe’s mother, Denise, have separated after living in different countries for several years – although this has not been confirmed or commented on by either or their sons.
One source told the Mail: “It's obvious to the management that Jobe is struggling with personal matters.
“He has struggled to make friends in the team, rarely goes out socialising in Dortmund and spends most of his time in his house alone.
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“The atmosphere and tension in the family is affecting his performances on the pitch.
“At the recent match his parents attended they came and left alone and didn't speak once. There are worries that Jobe feels very insecure and pressurised by what is going on.”
Aside from the recent claims, Mark and Denise have a close relationship with both sons, with Jude and Jobe previously speaking warmly about their parents in several interviews.
Jude described Mark and Denise as “great parents” and “great people” in a 2020 interview with The Guardian and even claimed his father was his footballing idol growing up.
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Mark was a prolific non-league striker and reportedly scored more than 700 goals in his career.
SPORTbible has contacted Borussia Dortmund for comment
Topics: Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga, Football, Transfers, Jude Bellingham
Luke Davies