Sunderland star Jobe Bellingham has already proven why he's destined to reach the top

Jobe Bellingham’s recent call-up to England’s Under-21s squad for the upcoming internationals is the culmination of his brilliant season to date.

The 19-year-old – sorely missed in the last two matches due to suspension – is playing an influential role in the side and forms a six-man leadership group in the first-team alongside Dan Neil, Luke O’Nien, Trai Hume, Alan Browne and Dan Ballard.

Looking at his numbers so far, as per the club, makes interesting reading. Bellingham has played 1,138 minutes, an impressive amount despite his recent inactivity and that places him fifth in the squad rankings for most minutes on the pitch behind Dan Neil, Dennis Cirkin, Trai Hume and Luke O’Nien.

READ MORE:Dennis Cirkin to Leeds United transfer assessed as high-flying Sunderland chase promotion

READ MORE:Every Sunderland player on international duty during the November break

He has made 394 successful passes and his passing accuracy is 87.2 per cent. A fundamental component of any midfielder’s identity, Bellingham has played his part in a Sunderland attack that has encouraged patient build-up play and produced clinical moves.

He has won 80 duels and his dribbling success has been 76.9 per cent while he has made 68 recoveries. This is a demonstration of his ability to cover vast ground across the field.

A great example of his work in winning the ball back for the Lads was his role in their second goal against Cardiff City on the opening day of the season. His tackle success rate is 67.7 per cent and tackles won, 21. Not only is he a powerhouse in forward areas he has proved an effective shield too in a defensive role.

He has made 13 appearances, with an average FotMob match rating of 7.34. using a metric based across a mixture of statistics of all-round play from defensive attributes, passing accuracy to attacking potency. FotMob’s rating system currently has Bellingham as the 22nd best player in the division this season.

Two goals so far have also shown his attacking qualities and there is a lot more to come from him this season.