LUKE O’NIEN is confident Jobe Bellingham will be able to handle the demands of being a Championship regular next season – because he has already embarrassed him with a series of nutmegs in training.

Bellingham joined Sunderland in a £3m move from Birmingham City last month, and is set to become a key part of Tony Mowbray’s first-choice midfield next term.

The 17-year-old made five league starts and 17 substitute appearances in his breakthrough season at St Andrew’s last season, but more will be expected of him this term following his high-profile summer switch to the Stadium of Light.

O’Nien has enjoyed working with all of Sunderland’s summer additions in the last couple of weeks, with Hemir’s physical presence in attack immediately catching the attention of his new team-mates.

Bellingham has been the player to stand out though, with his confidence, technical ability and vision all immediately apparent.

“Jobe has a lot of quality,” said O’Nien, who will be part of the Sunderland squad that flies to the United States later today ahead of a three-game tour that will feature matches against San Antonio, New Mexico United and North Carolina. “I think he’s already done about five nutmegs on me. The way he goes around the pitch, his ball manipulations, his quality is clear to see.

“The big man (Hemir) has adapted well too. We’ve done quite a lot of running this pre-season, and for a big lad, he’s put everything into it, which is what you want to see. As characters, they’ll bring a lot of value to the squad.

“There’s a lot more people going to be in the States too, and it’s good to have them in. I’m just looking forward to seeing them grow into the players they’re going to be.”

As well as adding more youngsters to the squad, with Nectarios Triantis and Jenson Seelt also having moved to Wearside this summer, Mowbray has also been encouraging the development of some of the younger players already within the academy ranks.

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Chris Rigg’s decision to sign a new deal with the Black Cats rather than move to either Newcastle United or Manchester United was a ringing endorsement of Mowbray’s willingness to give youth its head, with the teenager making an immediate impression in the opening pre-season game as he came off the bench to score the winner in Saturday’s 4-3 lunchtime win at South Shields.

That game also saw Ben Crompton play alongside O’Nien at the heart of Sunderland’s back four, and the 19-year-old, who joined the Black Cats’ youth ranks from Shrewsbury Town last summer, is pushing hard to be a first-team squad regular next season.

“I thought Ben at the back was really, really good,” said O’Nien. “He’s done well in training. The way he’s grown and adapted to first-team life has been really impressive and he’s done really well. It’ll be good to see him keep that going.

“Riggy has been brilliant from the moment he joined us last year. It’s a big step to the first team, but he plays exactly the same every day, in training, in matches, whatever. 

“A lot of the young lads are coming forward and knocking on the door, and I think that’s brilliant for the club. We’re seeing these players come through, hopefully to the first team, and that’s only going to serve the club well in the future. I’m looking forward to learning from them as well as trying to help them grow.”

O’Nien has assumed more and more of a leadership role in the last couple of years, and at the age of 28, he is comfortable with his status as one of the few elder statesmen within a prominently youthful dressing room.

“I know I’m old, even though I still feel really young,” he said. “The team is evolving. From the day I joined to where we are now, we’ve been evolving with new players in and new styles.

“We’re in a good place. I’m really enjoying it, I think all the boys are enjoying it, and I think these pre-season games are good because we’re all getting to know each other. We want to be singing from the same hymn sheet at the start of the season, and pre-season is important in that.”