Sunderland have finalised the signing of midfielder, Jobe Bellingham from Birmingham City for an undisclosed transfer fee.
Tony Mowbray’s Black Cats have been in discussions with Birmingham City in recent weeks with the latter club initially holding out for a £2.5m transfer fee, but have since reduced their asking price of around £1.5m plus add-ons.
Bellingham’s move to Wearside brings a nine-year spell at Birmingham to an end, having graduated through their youth ranks and made his senior debut at 16 years-old in a 1-0 defeat to Plymouth Argyle in the Third Round of 2021-22 FA Cup.
The 17 year-old went on to make 26 senior appearances in total across the last two seasons without scoring or creating any assists, although he did start Birmingham’s last four matches of last season as the Blues achieved their highest points tally in a league campaign in six years.
Speaking about his decision to move to Sunderland, Bellingham commented: “I’m delighted to sign for Sunderland AFC and I can’t wait to get started.
“The opportunity for young players to move here and progress is clear, so I believe this is the perfect Club for me to continue my development.”
Bellingham also paid tribute to Birmingham City staff and fans as he added: “I’m grateful to everyone at Birmingham City for their support over the past 11 years and I wish them the best for the future, as I begin the next chapter of my career at the Stadium of Light.”
The 17 year-old will officially complete his transfer to Sunderland upon his return from international duty for England Under-18s.
Bellingham will discover when he will return to St Andrew’s Stadium with Sunderland to face Birmingham City when the Championship fixtures are released at 9am BST on Thursday 22 June.
This announcement also comes hours after Jobe’s elder brother, Jude completed a move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid for an initial £88.5m transfer fee, which could total £113.5m once various add-ons are achieved.
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