Borussia Dortmund needs to be feeling the strain of Jobe Bellingham’s sluggish begin to life in Germany greater than he ought to.
That’s the perception of European soccer journalist Andy Brassell, who revealed the membership’s standing as the place for elite starlets is in danger.
The Bundesliga giants are famend throughout the continent for his or her position within the improvement of a number of the world’s finest younger skills.
Dortmund’s iron-clad standing for nurturing has seen them rake in over €1 billion (£872m) in outgoing transfers throughout the previous decade.
Robert Lewandowski, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ilkay Gundogan, Ousmane Dembele, and Jadon Sancho all arrived on the membership as relative unknowns however have been ultimately offered for large revenue.
Nevertheless, their switch technique has developed in latest instances to spend money on established youth corresponding to Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham.
Learn extra on Jobe Bellingham
The latter’s youthful brother, Jobe, appeared seemingly destined to be the subsequent participant on the conveyor belt after becoming a member of this summer season.
The 20-year-old held talks with Eintracht Frankfurt earlier than finishing a £31m change to BVB from Sunderland in June.
He began Dortmund’s first two fixtures within the Bundesliga, however has since been relegated to late cameos instead.
Jobe is but to finish a full 90 minutes for Dortmund, clocking up a complete of simply 167 minutes within the German top-flight.
“I do suppose there’s loads of strain on Dortmund to get this proper, as a result of he took a little bit of a leap of religion going there,” Brassell completely instructed talkSPORT.com.
“I feel it might have been simple to keep away from these comparisons and go to a different membership.
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“We all know, for instance, Eintracht Frankfurt have been actually concerned about him, identical to James McAtee went and had a go searching there, actually impressed. Eintracht Frankfurt are actually good builders of gamers.
“You can argue, in actual fact, that Frankfurt are higher builders of gamers than Dortmund now, as a result of we wind again to Jurgen Klopp, and also you consider all of the gamers that developed and have become stars there.
“Whether or not it was Mats Hummels, Lewandowski, or Nuri Sahin, it would not essentially should be academy merchandise, however younger gamers who type of obtained the top and obtained given a go there.
“Then, in case you look extra just lately, they begin going for older, extra skilled, costlier gamers, signings like [Marcel] Sabitzer, clearly, Pascal Gross is one. Those that they would not have made again within the day are fairly clear.
“So there is a totally different profile of participant they are going for. In fact, there will be individuals studying this saying, ‘Oh, properly, you recognize, they did develop Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham.’
“I am sorry, I am not giving them these, since you’re speaking about generational skills.

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“In fact, Dortmund do have a component to play of their story,” European soccer skilled Brassell continued to talkSPORT.
“There isn’t any doubt about that, as a result of they turned extra full gamers there. And that is one thing that speaks for Dortmund and can proceed to talk for Dortmund.
“But when we’re speaking about them as prolific builders of younger gamers, utilizing gamers who’re generational skills to be indicative of what the membership does, I do not suppose it is a honest comparability.
“So what they do with Jobe, and in the event that they get it proper, and if he turns into the participant that he needs to turn into they usually need him to turn into, that’s one thing that is actually essential for the subsequent lot of gamers that they attempt to signal.
“Jude Bellingham is a participant with an enormous future, who had a alternative.
“Possibly if this does not go proper, the subsequent one goes, ‘Effectively, all proper, possibly I will go to Eintracht Frankfurt. Possibly that is the place for me to develop.’
“By way of Dortmund nonetheless making itself a ending college for elite younger expertise, that this works is admittedly, actually essential for them.”
Dortmund greatest gross sales by season
Season | Largest sale | Price | Whole gross sales |
2025/26 | Jamie Gittens | €56m | €72.75m |
2024/25 | Niclas Fullkrug | €27m | €58.6m |
2023/24 | Jude Bellingham | €103m | €103m |
2022/23 | Erling Haaland | €60M | €78.7M |
2021/22 | Jadon Sancho | €85M | €108.25M |
2020/21 | Omer Toprak | €4M | €5.5M |
2019/20 | Abdou Diallo | €32M | €132.25M |
2018/19 | Christian Pulisic | €64M | €114.2M |
2017/18 | Ousmane Dembele | €140M | €275.95M |
2016/17 | Henrikh Mkhitaryan | €42M | €111M |
Jobe’s sluggish begin to life at Dortmund
Regardless of an encouraging begin within the Membership World Cup, the England U21 star’s gametime in every Bundesliga recreation has progressively decreased.
Niko Kovac revealed that prime competitors inside his squad is why Jobe has struggled to drive his method into the beginning line-up.
The Dortmund boss claims that whereas the youthful Bellingham is a ‘very gifted participant’, he ‘clearly comes from the English second division’.
“You possibly can’t make the error of making use of an excessive amount of strain, regardless of the identify,” Kovac stated.
“I feel that’s not doing the boy any favours, and the boy isn’t doing himself any favours.”