Mick Brown, who previously worked as a scout in English football, told Football Insider that Matthias Jaissle’s reshaped Newcastle are the obvious suitor if the 21-year-old keeps climbing.
“Looking at teams in the Premier League who need a midfielder, Newcastle are probably the standout options, and I’m sure they will be well aware of his situation,” Brown said. “If he continues to impress for Dortmund and he comes into this England side, although I’m not sure how many minutes he will play, there is a real chance Newcastle could make a move.”
That window of opportunity, Brown argued, is being prised open by two separate forces pulling in the same direction: a midfield gap at St James’ Park, and a maiden senior international call-up that has turned Jobe Bellingham from prospect into Premier League conversation piece.
Jaissle’s gutted midfield
Jaissle, appointed on 5 August after Eddie Howe stepped away from the club in July, inherited a squad hollowed out in the engine room after the departures of Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães.
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Newcastle sit in the bottom half of the Premier League, with Joe Willock and Nico González carrying most of the central-midfield minutes under Jaissle. The January transfer window is the first chance to patch a build that was torn up before Jaissle even arrived.
Why Tuchel picked him
Thomas Tuchel named Jobe Bellingham in his November England squad for the Nations League fixtures against Croatia on 12 November and Spain on 15 November, putting him alongside older brother Jude for the first time.
Tuchel pointed to the midfielder’s form in the Bundesliga, where Jobe Bellingham has started in every league match this season under Niko Kovač after being used more selectively a year earlier.
“He’s had some good matches now and he’s on a good run of form with Dortmund so he deserves to be with us,” Tuchel said, according to Get German Football News.
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Man United the complication
Newcastle are not alone in watching the Dortmund academy signing’s trajectory. According to The Hard Tackle, Manchester United have added Jobe Bellingham to a shortlist of midfielders they are scouting with Bruno Fernandes’s future in mind, and are considering an approach for a loan in January, with Spanish outlet Fichajes also carrying that interest.
Dortmund’s own position remains the biggest obstacle. His contract runs until June 2030 and the club have signalled consistently that no bids will be entertained in the winter market. Brown told Football Insider that Jobe Bellingham has long been on the radar of a number of Premier League clubs, and the forthcoming England fixtures will be read very carefully by every scout tracking him.
Jude Bellingham and Jobe Bellingham train together with England this week at St George’s Park before the Croatia game on Thursday.
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