Patience with Jobe Bellingham: Niko Kovač sees it as a process | OneFootball

While the trio Aarón Anselmino, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Fabio Silva were only signed in the last days before the transfer deadline, Jobe Bellingham became the first new signing of the summer, signing a contract with Borussia Dortmund on June 10th, lasting until 2030, and traveled with his new teammates directly to the Club World Cup in the USA.

There, Bellingham started three out of four matches, but missed the quarter-final match against Real Madrid, which ended in a 2-3 loss, and thus the duel with his brother Jude due to a yellow card suspension.

Of the six competitive matches in the new season, Bellingham was only allowed to start in the away game against FC St. Pauli (3-3) and the following home match against 1. FC Union Berlin (3-0), including substitutions. Since then, the 20-year-old has been on the bench at the start of two league games and the Champions League opener at Juventus Turin (4-4), but was at least substituted in each time.

Kovac Tempers Expectations

Photo: IMAGO

Due to the large selection in central midfield with Marcel Sabitzer, Felix Nmecha, Pascal Groß, Julian Brandt, Salih Özcan, and Chukwuemeka, coach Niko Kovac sees nothing unusual in Bellingham's role as a substitute, as he told kicker: “Everyone wants to play more. Everyone wants to play everything. But then you only need eleven players. When you sign a contract here, it’s not only well-paid, but it also says there’s a lot of competition.”

In general, Kovac wants to protect Bellingham from (too) high expectations. The English U21 international is a young professional “who brings a lot of potential, but also a player who naturally has to grow into it here.” The BVB coach therefore cautions: “You shouldn’t make the mistake of putting too much pressure on him, despite the name. I believe that doesn’t do the boy any favors, and it doesn’t do him any favors either.”

Reflecting on his experience as a coach, Kovac further emphasizes that “young players sometimes need up to half a year” to fully settle in and therefore speaks of a “process.” However, the 53-year-old is fundamentally convinced that Bellingham will make a significant impact: “It will all come, we are convinced of that.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.