Bellinghams delight young fan by 'agreeing' to join Championship club

The 21-year-old visited his brother Jobe over the festive period and the pair have put pen to paper on a contract to reunite at club level.

The Bellingham siblings came through the ranks at boyhood Birmingham before transfers to Borussia Dortmund and Sunderland.

Jude has since gone on to superstardom after swapping Germany for Madrid, with Jobe now showing a rich vein of form at the Black Cats.

The older Bellingham brother continued his tradition of watching Jobe on Boxing Day with Spanish football on their winter hiatus.

Jude was in the stands at Ewood Park for Sunderland's 2-2 draw against Blackburn hours after signing a contract for their East Lancashire rivals Burnley.

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He sensationally agreed a 10-year contract with the Clarets and there's no chance of a family divide with Jobe coming with him.

The pair conducted a signing day to greet fans on Christmas Day at the Crow Wood Hotel and Spa Resort in Burnley.

It was there Jude and Jobe came across young Clarets fan Alfie and his family who brilliantly engineered a way to get their autographs.

The innovative supporter presented the Bellingham brothers with a makeshift contract which the footballers happily signed.

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It read: "We, Jobe and Jude, agree to sign for Burnley F.C. for 10 years," with the duo's accompanying 'John Hancock'.

His father shared the story on X, posting: "My Lad Alfie has just signed Jobe & Jude Bellingham up for Burnley on a 10-year contract. Real Madrid and Sunderland sorry lads!!"

Football fans on social media soon ensured the gesture went viral, with numerous posts of praise for both the Bellingham bro's class in being good sports and Alfie for his transfer nous.

Some others jokingly suggested that the young supporter will soon be investigated for a clear breach of tapping up the England stars.

It even caught the attention of Burnley chairman Alan Pace, who replied to the original post: "Welcome to the recruitment team Alfie."

Burnley enjoyed a historic Christmas in the transfer market this year, with Brazil icon Ronaldinho also being unveiled with a club shirt.

The Barcelona legend - who won the Ballon d'Or in 2005 - was gifted this season's Claret home top to his bemused Instagram followers.

The reason however is that Ronaldinho's son Joao Mendes is now on the books at Turf Moor after joining from Barcelona in the summer.

He is yet to make his senior debut under Scott Parker but has been cutting his teeth in the under-21s as he adjusts to the English game.

Upon joining Burnley in August, he said: "I feel blessed to be here and I'm excited to take on this opportunity. "The project is great and although the weather is different to what I'm used to where I'm from in Brazil, I can tell how passionate the fans are about football here and I really like the town.

"The other players have been very receptive, speaking to me and making me feel part of the group. Training has been great so far too. I'm a technical and fast player and my main is helping the team win games."

Unfortunately, Joao Mendes won't be joined by his fellow 19-year-old Jobe, who signed a Sunderland extension until 2028 back in August.

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Jude meanwhile may be a tad outside Burnley's winter budget, having been listed as the most valuable football player in world football in January with a cost of £230.2million.

That ten-year contract might just be getting a rethink!