Sunderland academy star is their best talent since Jobe

Sunderland’s season might well have hit a bump in the road at Old Trafford on Saturday, but the Premier League newcomers won’t feel completely derailed by the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United.

After all, the Black Cats are still sitting in an encouraging ninth position in the early standings, with an expectation that they can bounce back immediately from the defeat at the Theatre of Dreams when Vitor Pereira’s winless Wolverhampton Wanderers next come to Wearside.

Regis Le Bris should very much be commended for this top start to the season, as well, with the Frenchman actually up for the honour of September’s Manager of the Month accolade.

He is joined by Granit Xhaka and Robin Roefs in being recognised for their efforts over the last month with the Mackems pair up for Player of the Month.

In an alternate reality, the current make-up of the Black Cats team could look disjointed and messy after a hectic off-season that saw signings aplenty join the building, but also saw Jobe Bellingham disappointingly up and leave for the glamour of Borussia Dortmund.

Fortunately, even without him, they’ve been right as rain in 2025/26 to date.

How Jobe Bellingham is faring at Dortmund

Amazingly, despite garnering much hype at the Stadium of Light, the ex-Sunderland boy wonder never pulled on the famous red and white stripes of the Black Cats in the Premier League.

Instead, the 20-year-old’s final chapter on Wearside fell in the Championship as Le Bris and Co. sealed promotion, with journalist Josh Bunting even hailing the England U21 international as “sensational” when strutting his stuff at the promotion chasers.

While he did begin his footballing education at Birmingham City, it’s fair to say Bellingham very much honed his craft at Sunderland, with the standout number seven managing to mature at a rapid pace, after being handed the first-team reins initially by Tony Mowbray.

A bumper tally of 11 goals and four assists from 90 Sunderland clashes would eventually alert the Bundesliga giants of Dortmund to his services, with the Black and Yellow forking out a substantial £27.8m to land the exciting midfielder.

It hasn’t all gone to plan for Bellingham on German soil so far, though, with just two Bundesliga starts coming his way this season.

In fact, his spell in Germany has been a little controversial thus far with his father, Mark, reportedly unhappy with his son’s playing time, directing anger at manager Niko Kovac.

However, it still goes without saying that the 20-year-old was a stunning success story on Sunderland’s end, with the youngster once just a wide-eyed teenager but now a Champions League figure for Kovac’s side.

So, where could the next Bellingham come from?

Sunderland’s biggest talent since Bellingham

Just one glance at those who have previously donned the number ten shirt at Sunderland gives you a quick indication as to why it’s a cherished number.

Kevin Phillips wore that exact number when he bagged 30 goals for the Black Cats during one single top-flight season, while Jordan Henderson also briefly pulled it on, too, before the might of Liverpool came knocking.

While it is, of course, early days into his Sunderland development, Timur Tuterov might well be in line to also pull on that much-talked-about number very soon.

It’s a bold call, indeed, but the Ukrainian is displaying a Phillips-like potency for the U21s this season, as one of his efforts – which saw Tuterov score a fine solo effort – seeing him nominated for Sunderland’s goal of the month competition for September.

Indeed, from just four Premier League 2 contests so far this campaign, the Ukraine U21 international has managed to bag a blistering five strikes in just four games, with back-to-back braces falling into his lap against West Ham and Burnley.

It’s rather evident to see why academy manager Robin Nicholls once described him as “an exciting prospect.”

Should he continue scoring goals at that rate of knots, then Tuterov could also be the biggest talent Sunderland has managed to produce since turning Bellingham into a Dortmund superstar, with the 20-year-old also an adaptable presence, much like the Englishman.

With Le Bris also well-known for getting plenty out of youngsters at his disposal, with Chris Rigg turned into a first-team starter last season, it does feel as if Tuterov could be the next shouted-about name ready to leave an impression on the senior ranks.

Patience will have to be exercised here, but Sunderland’s glittering track record does seem to suggest that Tuterov could be the next gem ready to pull on the number 10 jersey, living up to Bellingham’s insane hype in the process.