Mike Dodds talks up Jobe Bellingham as answer to Sunderland striker frustrations

Mike Dodds believes no one should be surprised to see Jobe Bellingham used as a striker, adding he finds it impossible to positionally pigeonhole the teenager.

Jobe has primarily played in midfield for Sunderland this season but started the campaign leading the line as a centre forward. Dodds, who was in caretaker charge of Sunderland following the sacking of Tony Mowbray last week, restored the 18-year-old the that position for the win over West Brom.

It was a good decision, and Jobe would have been on the scoresheet had it not been for a frankly embarrassingly bad decision from a flag-happy assistant referee.

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Last week, Real Madrid and England star Jude Bellingham described Jobe as a ‘thoroughbred striker’ whilst tipping his a future Golden Boy winner, and Dodds may just share that opinion.

"The guys were saying his goal early on was onside," Dodds said of Bellingham.

"We have the privilege of being able to use a lot of resources, clips, data - all those sorts of things. Jobe had a goal at QPR that was chalked off, one today that was chalked off. He arguably should have scored at Leicester, he could have scored against Birmingham and Ipswich.

Staggeringly poor officiating really. Shouldn’t even be a difficult decision.

They want respect, though. #SAFC pic.twitter.com/MZ3H7W9Eis
— Michael Graham (@Capt_Fishpaste) December 9, 2023

“What that shows is that he has a real knack of being in the right place at the right time, and I don't think you can coach that. What we have to do is just tidy those bits up.”

Dodds was a key figure in the early development of both Jobe and Jude Bellingham, and there is every chance the former wouldn’t even be at Sunderland if Dodds was not on the coaching staff.

That has given him a unique perspective of Jobe, and he says he certainly sees a striker in him.

"I've had the privilege of coaching him from a very young age, and I watched him playing as a striker pretty much up until the U14s,” he said. “It wasn't until he got a bit older that his position changed.

"I'm not saying he's a number nine, just that he's a player who has a knack of breaking the box and who can naturally find space in the box. The reality is that for an 18-year-old, with a bit of luck he could have almost double figures to his name this season.”

Dodds will almost certainly be in charge of Sunderland again when Leeds visit the Stadium of Light, and that could mean that Jobe is again used as a striker.

That, though, will likely depends on how he recovers over the next couple of days.

“We'll see what Tuesday brings but as I've said before, the reality is I could play him anywhere on the pitch and he'd perform."

"You stand next to him and he's got a unique body for an 18-year-old. We'll see how the next 48 hours go.”

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