Jude Bellingham has posted a heartfelt tribute to his younger brother, Jobe, who made his debut for Birmingham City on Saturday night.
Jobe, 16, was brought off the bench in the second half of Birmingham’s FA Cup third-round tie against Plymouth Argyle at St Andrew’s.
Birmingham would go on to lose the match 1-0 in extra time but Jude took to Twitter after full-time to show his support for his younger brother.
He wrote: “So f***ing proud”, along with a series of heart emojis.
Jobe follows in the footsteps of Jude, who also made his debut for Birmingham at the age of 16 back in 2019.
Birmingham manager Lee Bowyer was impressed with Jobe’s performance against Plymouth and expects the midfielder to improve in the coming weeks.
“Young Jobe coming on looked so comfortable,” said Bowyer.
“He's earned that, he's been training with us for two, three, four weeks now, you can just see him growing and improving every day.
“I said to him after the game 'You've done really well, you're a 16-year-old lad that dominated the ball, didn't really give it away, tried to do the right things and when you did give it away you ran back, defended in your own box.
“He did a lot of good things and I said 'I only gave you that opportunity because you've earned it.
“When he first came to us training with the first-team group he took too many touches and was getting caught in possession, but now that's not happening as much and you've seen that there.
“He played with a confidence and that's because he's improving every day and I thought it was the right time and I'd like to think that I was right.”
Jude, meanwhile, remains heavily linked with a return to English football after continuing to impress for Borussia Dortmund.
The 18-year-old scored in a 3-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday and has now managed eight goals in 71 appearances for Dortmund since joining from Birmingham in 2020.
Manchester United reportedly remain interested in Bellingham after failing in a bid to sign him before his move to the Bundesliga.
Liverpool have also linked with a move for the England international and Reds legend Jamie Carragher has urged Jurgen Klopp to make a bid for the midfielder.
When asked in a Q&A on Twitter who he would like Liverpool to sign in January, Sky Sports pundit Carragher said: “Jude Bellingham & the summer window is fine for me!”
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Birmingham City, Borussia Dortmund, Jude Bellingham, Football, EFL Championship, FA Cup