Jobe Bellingham scored Sunderland’s fifth goal of the season in the triumph over Plymouth Argyle.
Jobe Bellingham appears likely to make a rapid return to the Sunderland starting lineup following an outstanding cameo against Plymouth Argyle on Saturday afternoon.
Bellingham had started the great majority of games this season since arriving from Birmingham City, but was demoted to the bench when Patrick Roberts made his first start since suffering a calf injury shortly before the new year. The midfielder scored with his first touch as the Black Cats won 3-1.
Head coach Michael Beale later noted that both his substitutes and starting lineup were chosen with the week’s hectic schedule in mind, putting the 18-year-old firmly in contention to start on Wednesday night.
“We discussed it on Thursday,” Beale said.
“This week, we discussed three incredibly huge games. We have a long journey ahead of us, down to Huddersfield and back, then down to Birmingham. Pierre was a pre-planned substitution. You can’t plan everything, but the midfield was supposed to rotate a little bit this week anyhow.
“We would play with one more up the pitch, especially at home. Abdoullah [Ba] deserves to be in the team, and I believe Paddy (Roberts) has demonstrated what we’ve lost in moments with his dribbling abilities. There are so many positives at the moment. Young Rigg is also coming on.”
Bellingham has five goals in 32 appearances for the Black Cats this season.
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