Inside Bellingham's tough start at Dortmund

Jobe Bellingham has come off the bench in seven of his nine Bundesliga appearances

Jobe Bellingham will certainly feel his start to the season with Borussia Dortmund could have gone better.

Following a promising outing at the Club World Cup in the summer - where he grabbed a goal and an assist in his four appearances - and good performances during pre-season preparation, Dortmund manager Niko Kovac granted Bellingham a place in the starting XI for the Bundesliga opener against St Pauli in August.

But Bellingham was subbed off at half-time.

After the game, Mark Bellingham - the father of Jobe and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham - went into the players' tunnel, reportedly to confront Dortmund's sporting director Sebastian Kehl.

Dortmund had fumbled a 3-1 lead at St Pauli, in part because rookie defender Filippo Mane was shown a red card in the 85th minute right before the hosts scored two goals to make it a draw.

But Bellingham Sr felt subbing off his son so early and witnessing what he deemed to be a rather dull style of football was enough to butt heads with Kehl and indirectly criticise Kovac's work.

Dortmund's hierarchy were not happy about what went on at St Pauli, even though Kehl tried to play down the post-match incident.

The club reiterated afterwards that only players, coaches and officials were allowed in such areas as the players' tunnel.

Meanwhile, managing director Lars Ricken said the club had built a "trusting relationship" with the Bellingham family over the years and that they were waiting to see their son after his first Bundesliga game.

"They stood at the entrance to the locker room and also spoke emotionally with Sebastian, which isn't a problem at all based on the relationship. Everything was cleared up already," he added.

Dortmund struggle to find Bellingham's best role

In the aftermath of the St Pauli game, Bellingham found himself more often than not on the bench - though his decreasing playing time had nothing to do with his dad's confrontation with Kehl.

He made his only other start in the Bundesliga in Dortmund's second game against Union Berlin. He was subbed off after 71 minutes for Felix Nmecha.

In his first outing against St Pauli, Bellingham essentially played as a number 10 behind two strikers. Ever since, Kovac has preferred a formation with two centre midfielders and three forwards.

It is still hard to say which role Dortmund's manager might see as the best fit for Bellingham. During last season at Sunderland, he often played alongside a more defensive-minded midfielder.

Nmecha has the physical presence for the number six role, while former Brighton midfielder Pascal Gross or the experienced Austrian international Marcel Sabitzer provide the necessary ball security for the number eight in Kovac's 3-4-3.

Bellingham has two assists in three Champions League games

Nine of Bellingham's 14 appearances in all competitions this season have come as a substitute, but he has never sat on the bench for the full 90 minutes.

He even made two starts in the Champions League in victories against Athletic Club and FC Copenhagen, assisting two of Dortmund's four goals in the latter.

This suggests Dortmund - who visit Manchester City on Wednesday - are interested in developing the 20-year-old over time.

But it has not been easy for Bellingham to make an impact when coming on for the final moments of a game.

The low point of his season so far was probably his brief outing against Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga 'Klassiker'.

Dortmund were trailing by one goal when Bellingham came on in the 73rd minute. A few minutes later, Harry Kane set up a great counter attack by delivering a long ball to Luis Diaz.

As the former Liverpool winger outplayed defender Waldemar Anton and passed the ball past goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, Bellingham found himself in front of the goalline. He tried to stop the ball from crossing the line but accidentally stepped on the ball, serving it to Michael Olise on a silver platter.

Bellingham was not the main reason Dortmund conceded a second goal at Allianz Arena, but the whole sequence embodied the first phase of his season.

He meant well, he was right there in the line of fire, but he did not make a great impression.

Dortmund want a second Bellingham fairytale

Bellingham had only played in the Championship before his arrival in Dortmund and had to deal with incredibly high expectations from the get-go.

Dortmund paid roughly the same transfer fee for him as they did for his brother Jude when he joined in 2020.

Jude was deemed a generational talent at the age of 17 after only one full season with Birmingham City. Meanwhile, Jobe - albeit gifted - spent several years at Birmingham and Sunderland. He needed a longer runway to get to Dortmund.

And yet Dortmund made sure to pound the narrative that history could repeat itself.

The three-year-long run with Jude was a win-win for everyone. He almost immediately established himself as one of the most promising midfielders in the Bundesliga and eventually left for Real Madrid after a great spell for a record transfer fee.

Perhaps expectations for the younger brother were too high in August, especially following Bellingham's performances at the Club World Cup. The downfall happened quickly, but so can his rise.

In the games following the loss to Bayern Munich, Bellingham has started to impress more and more, even though he is still only a substitute in the Bundesliga.

He played 120 minutes against Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Cup, as Dortmund powered through to the penalty shootout on enemy soil and advanced to the next round.

Even his effort against Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Friday did not go unnoticed. Dortmund tried to sail home with a 1-0 lead and Bellingham made sure to deny a few of Augsburg's offensive attempts.

"I believe things go faster than even I could have imagined, because the lad has really a lot of quality," Kovac said after Friday's game.

There is a realistic chance that with time, Bellingham will become a regular starter in Dortmund's central midfield.

Sabitzer has not set the world on fire as a playmaker. And Gross, while respected and always reliable - as Brighton fans can attest - is 34 and cannot go full force every game anymore.

Dortmund might not get a Jude-like fairytale, but with patience, the younger Bellingham could turn into a success story.