England's Blues brothers - how the Bellinghams helped save Birmingham

Jude Bellingham shared an old photo of him and brother Jobe after England's squad announcement last week [Jude Bellingham Instagram] It is six years since Jude Bellingham played his final game for Birmingham City, and three years since younger brother Jobe wore the club's shirt for the last time. While Jude, 23, is establishing himself as a footballing great at European greats Real Madrid following a spell at Borussia Dortmund, Jobe, 21, is continuing his football education at his brother's former club in Germany after two seasons with Sunderland. The Stourbridge-born midfielders have moved on with their careers. Their memories, however, live on at St Andrew's, such was the impact the boyhood Birmingham fans made in the Championship. On match days supporters stop and pose for photographs in front of Jude's mural outside the ground. Fans still turn up to matches wearing Bellingham shirts. "They both had a real connection with fans," Craig Courtney, from the Tilton Talk fan podcast, told BBC Sport. "Fans loved the fact they both cared. "They wore their hearts on their sleeves and helped Birmingham when we were fighting relegation. Even now, Jude and Jobe remember where it all started for them." The brothers played 70 league and cup games between them for Birmingham after graduating from the academy. They have never appeared together in a senior match, however, as Jude - who joined Birmingham aged eight - had left by the time Jobe broke into the first team in 2022. That could all change on Thursday. The Bellinghams will become the first brothers to play for England for 19 years if Jobe wins his first cap and appears alongside Jude, a veteran of 60 appearances, in the Nations League game with Croatia at Wembley. "It will be an incredibly proud moment for Birmingham City if that happens," said Courtney. 'A beautiful story' as Bellingham brothers called up Listen: How Jude Bellingham became a global brand 'Jude chose best way to look after Blues' Birmingham supporters have had little to cheer about recently. It is 15 years since they last appeared in the Premier League, while the 2011 League Cup winners even dipped down to League One recently. While fierce rivals Aston Villa were playing - and beating - Bayern Munich and Bologna in the Champions League two years ago, Birmingham were losing at Shrewsbury and drawing with Northampton Town. Yet the mood is changing at St Andrew's. After 15 games Birmingham sit top of the Championship and there are plans for a new 62,000-capacity stadium in time for 2030-31. "As a club, we've been right down in the doldrums," added Courtney. "Now we're top of the table and having a new stadium built. "There is an argument that none of this would have been possible without the fees received for Jude and Jobe." A mural tribute to Jude Bellingham outside St Andrew's [Getty Images] Jude is the youngest player in Birmingham's history after making his debut aged 16 years and 38 days in 2019. Clubs across Europe were pursuing him when he signed his first professional contact in 2020 after turning 17 - a deal both he and Birmingham knew would never be fulfilled. His actions, however, ensured Birmingham would receive a significant transfer fee when he left, and soon afterwards he joined Dortmund for an initial fee of £20m during the Covid-19 pandemic. When he joined Real in 2023, Birmingham received a reported sell-on fee of at least £10m. "We cannot possibly imagine, without Jude's decision [to sign a contract], where we would be as a club in a pandemic like this," then Birmingham chief executive Xuandong Ren told BBC WM after Jude joined Dortmund. "He could easily have just looked after himself and not the club, but he chose the best possible way to look after the club." Jobe became the second youngest player to play for Birmingham when he made his debut in January 2022 aged 16 years and 107 days. "This was a lad, regardless of who his brother was or what he was achieving, who would do anything to write his own success story," former Birmingham striker Troy Deeney, who played in the game when Jobe made his debut, told the Sun. "Everything he has achieved on the pitch, too, has come with an instant comparison to his older brother. "He never got that one moment to enjoy something without someone, somewhere saying: 'Yeah, but what about Jude?' "That only added to how strong he was mentally, and anyone who suggests he is where he is because of his last name is talking rubbish." Deeney added: "What impressed me more than anything he had done on the pitch was his attitude - a hell-bent determination to get to the top and the common sense to take all the right steps along the way." Jobe played 26 games before Sunderland paid £3m for him in 2023, with Birmingham receiving a reported £4m sell-on fee when he moved to Dortmund two years later. Although significantly less than the fees generated by his brother, it was nevertheless welcome revenue. Jobe Bellingham was given his Birmingham City debut by manager Lee Bowyer in January 2022 [Getty Images] 'They love Birmingham' Both Jude and Jobe have returned to St Andrew's since their transfers. Jobe captained England Under-21s to a 2-0 win against the Republic of Ireland at his old ground last November. Before that match U21s boss Lee Carsley, who managed Jude when he was England interim manager in 2024, praised the brothers for their work ethic and determination to be the best. Carsley said: "I know how much they love the Blues still and how important the club is to them." Jude, tipped to be a future England captain, was at St Andrew's in July watching his former club in a pre-season friendly against Barcelona. He even wore a Birmingham shirt while watching from the stands. Jude wore a Birmingham City shirt when he returned to St Andrew's [Getty Images] When Jude joined Dortmund in 2020 Birmingham retired the 17-year-old's number 22 shirt after 44 appearances. "That was a gesture of thanks for what Jude had done," said Courtney. "It might be wishful thinking, but I really believe Jude has unfinished business at Birmingham. I can see a scenario before he retires where he gets an opportunity to wear the number 22 again." Should the Bellingham brothers play together against Croatia, they will become the first siblings to appear for England since Gary and Phil Neville against Spain in a friendly at Old Trafford in 2007. It will be an immensely proud moment for their parents, Mark and Denise. "We've played together for so long in the street and to play with my brother Jobe for England would be the biggest dream of my life," Jude wrote on social media in 2024. "That would mean more than any of the trophies. Nothing would even get close to that... nothing." All the latest Birmingham City news