HE might not have dominated as many headlines as his brilliant older brother Jude, who has made a quite incredible start to life at Real Madrid, but Jobe Bellingham has also wasted no time in making an impact and impressing after a summer transfer switch.

Bellingham only turned 18 at the end of last month but has very quickly established himself as a major figure in Tony Mowbray's Sunderland side, starting every Championship game so far. Indeed, only five of Sunderland's outfield squad have played more minutes than Bellingham so far.

And he's demonstrated his versatility as well as his class, playing up-front, as a No,10 and as a holding midfielder for the Black Cats.

While Sunderland are obviously well aware of the need to closely manager and protect such a young player, Mowbray admits Bellingham belies his years on and off the pitch.

“He is very mature for his age," said Sunderland's head coach.

"He acts like a seasoned pro, and demands standards, even in small sided games he wants to win. You can see he has a very focused driven thought pattern on where he is going and how he is going to get there. And that is to try to be excellent in everything you do. It’s a great mentality. It helps our team to have someone so young."

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Bellingham is bound to attract extra attention because of his name and the status of his older brother but he earned his Sunderland move and he's in Mowbray's team on his own merit. Comparisons with his brother, while inevitable, are unwanted, though it no doubt helps that in first team coach Mike Dodds, Sunderland have someone who has worked closely with both players and knows the family well. It is one of the main reasons Bellingham was so desperate on the Sunderland move.

Mowbray said: "He is not in the team because of his name. He's in the team because of his football ability and his competitive edge and athleticism and technique. He works hard every day.

"As coaches we want to protect him in three-game weeks so sometimes when he comes off it is to give him a break. We should just enjoy the journey with him and see where he gets to as time rolls on.

"He doesn’t want to be compared with his brother, but we have coaches here who helped his brother as a 17, 18 year old. They can gauge where he is, and he has some amazing tools.

"If he listens, works hard and competes like he does he won’t go far wrong. He has confidence and belief and has a good football brain."