Jobe Bellingham has revealed that he only sports his first name - not his surname - on his shirt because he thought it would be "cool to have my own name", insisting there was no "deeper meaning" behind the decision. Bellingham has maintained this trend, with 'Jobe' emblazoned on the back of his Borussia Dortmund shirt, a practice he also followed at Sunderland.

It was his impressive performances with the newly promoted Premier League team that secured Bellingham his move to Germany this summer. His final game for the Black Cats resulted in their promotion from the Championship in the play-off final at Wembley. He's since made a £32million switch to the Bundesliga side and netted his first goal for his new club on Saturday, scoring against Mamelodi Sundowns in a 4-3 victory in the Club World Cup.

Deciding against the traditional last name on his jersey, Bellingham has opted for 'Jobe', a habit he adopted after leaving Birmingham for Sunderland when a coach suggested he do so.

He explained to FIFA: "Well, if I'm being really honest, obviously, it started when I first signed for Sunderland. I, maybe, thought about it a few times. I thought: 'Yeah, that would be quite cool.' But, only when people brought it up to me. I never thought about it like spontaneously on my own.

"Someone close to me would say: 'That would be cool if you did that'. And then, someone who's quite special to me - a coach that I had at Sunderland and at Birmingham when I was a kid - he said: 'Why don't you do that at Sunderland?' And, just because I was young, I thought: 'It would be cool to have my own name on the back of my shirt'. So, it was more that than anything (else).

"I wasn't really trying to have a deeper meaning behind it, but I suppose you can find that in that act. But yeah, I think it's quite unique and it's quite cool, and it's something that I enjoy having."

His move to Dortmund has naturally led to comparisons with his brother Jude, who made a successful transition from Birmingham to the Bundesliga club before securing a high-profile transfer to Real Madrid.

Despite treading a similar path, the new Dortmund signing is adamant he's not just emulating his sibling, as he emphasised his true feelings and the ambition to carve out his own identity.

He explained: "I don't really care how it looks, but it might look a bit contradictory to some people. I was perhaps being biased against Dortmund for a very long time, because I have anxieties and fears and you want to be your own man, but I don't think I should let those stop me from making the right decision.

"So for me, it was about choosing the right path, not necessarily a different one. I don't think my path has been the same as Jude's at all."