While Jude Bellingham has established himself as one of the best players in the world since joining Real Madrid in June 2023, his brother, Jobe, is also making a name for himself.
The teenager joined Sunderland when his sibling moved to Madrid and has had Black Cats fans purring with his start to life at the Championship club.
Bellingham was directly involved in five goals in his first 20 league games for the Mackems, scoring four times as part of a promising first half of the campaign for the club.
Next up is the biggest challenge of his Sunderland career: an FA Cup match against fierce rivals Newcastle United of the Premier League.
Here's part of the story of how Bellingham has become known as one of the brightest prospects in European football.
MORE: Jude Bellingham wins Golden Boy award 2023
Who is Jobe Bellingham? Age, position, clubs
The younger brother of Jude, Jobe was born on September 23, 2005 and celebrated his 18th birthday during the 2023/24 season.
Like Jude, Jobe blossomed in Birmingham City's academy, near the West Midlands town of Stourbridge their family called home.
Birmingham were understandably keen to quell comparisons between Jobe and Jude, but they were inevitable when Jobe made his senior debut at 16 years and 107 days old in 2022 — a Blues record only eclipsed by Jude, who had been 69 days younger on his first start.
An attacking midfielder, Jobe's first start was an FA Cup match at home to Plymouth Argyle, and he made his league debut in the second tier a week later.
He was used sparingly during the rest of the season and was a regular in the first-team squad during 2022/23, with only a three-month stomach muscle injury hindering his involvement as John Eustace's side earned the club's highest points total in six seasons, finishing 17th in a notoriously competitive division.
Jobe Bellingham Sunderland stats, goals, assists, salary
After gaining international experience with England Under-18s during the summer, Jobe switched to Sunderland on the same day as Jude joined Madrid for £88 million ($145m) from Borussia Dortmund.
The fee was undisclosed, with Sunderland Nation reporting that a rumoured sum of £3m ($3.8m) was significantly higher than the actual price.
"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," Jobe said at the time.
"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."
Bellingham's expectations of game time proved accurate as he started 23 of Sunderland's first 25 matches of the season under former manager Tony Mowbray and successor Michael Beale.
His first goals came in the third of those matches, scoring twice as Sunderland came from behind to beat Rotherham United 2-1 at home for their first win of the season.
All four of his goals in 2023 for his new club came at the Stadium of Light, where he returned to haunt former club Birmingham — 3-1 losers under Eustace's high-profile successor, Wayne Rooney — and score the only goal of the game against Leeds United.
That match was one of the five times in Sunderland's final six games of the year when Bellingham completed 90 minutes, and he also set up a goal in a 2-0 win over Watford to help boost the club's ambitions of promotion.
Bellingham is not far off Sunderland's top 10 earners, according to Salary Sport, which says his basic pay is £8,100 ($10,300) a week or £421,200 ($536,300) a year.
MORE: 'Real Madrid signed Jude Bellingham because he can be the world's best' — Clarence Seedorf
Jude and Jobe Bellingham playing styles
Jude's sensational start to his career with Real Madrid, scoring 17 times in his first 20 appearances for the club, was partly because of his deployment as a No. 10.
The marquee signing from Borussia Dortmund tends to play in a deeper role for England, and Mowbray spoke of a similar adaptability possessed by Jobe.
"He is disappointed he didn't get more goals," Mowbray said after the youngster's double against Rotherham, speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle.
"But he's in the six-yard box, he's playing the role we've asked him to play. He showed good flexibility. It isn't a possibility [to play him as a striker] and we wouldn't expect that. He's not a number nine.
"I think he can play wide, he can play like a number six and be one of two holding midfield players. He can obviously run and be a running [number] eight — I've played him as a number 10.
"His greatest asset is he wants to learn football. He's 17 but he asks questions every day of the coaches: 'why am I doing this? Where do I go? What do you want me to do?' He's a joy to work with really and I'm just so pleased he's scored some goals and helped the team win."
Is Jobe Bellingham going to Real Madrid?
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez personally approved a visit by chief scout Juni Calafat to watch Bellingham make his debut for England Under-19s in October, according to El Nacional.
While Bellingham is far from a hidden gem by now, Madrid could be keen to act quickly in case his progress causes his price to skyrocket to the kind of fee they lavished on his brother.
Bellingham started the goalless draw against Montenegro and impressed again with the confidence and maturity of his display. He was called up in November for games against Romania, Japan and Mexico but withdrew from the squad.
Madrid are likely to have plenty of further chances to watch Bellingham in international action. Any transfer move will be for a target whose current deal at Sunderland lasts for four years, meaning his contract expires at the end of the 2026/27 season.
Former Birmingham striker Troy Deeney is said to have predicted that Bellingham "is going to be unbelievably talented".
"You can't deny that, but it is just going to take him a year or two longer than his brother," The Sunderland Echo quoted Deeney as saying in early 2023. "He's put on 10 kilos this year. He's going to be an absolute monster, just like his brother is."
Jude and Jobe Bellingham relationship
In a post shared with his millions of Instagram followers, Jude documented his return to England to relax with his brother and family for Christmas during the 2023/24 La Liga winter break.
The photos showed the brothers spending Christmas Day together and Jude watching Jobe play for Sunderland in a 1-0 win at Hull City on Boxing Day.
Their father, Mark Bellingham, was pictured after receiving a cushion featuring a cover of himself with his offspring during their childhoods.
Bellingham senior has clearly influenced his children on and off the pitch: the former local police officer scored more than 700 goals during a prolific career as a non-league striker.
