The Real Madrid manager's message after Sunday's 2-1 win at Espanyol left little room for interpretation: the closer Bellingham gets to the opposition box, the better for Real Madrid.
"I like Jude like that," Mourinho said after the match, a comment that doubled as a statement of where he does not want to see the England international play.
Mourinho considers pulling Bellingham into deeper positions a waste of his key attributes, an approach both Carlo Ancelotti and Xabi Alonso attempted with limited success. The Portuguese instead wants his number eight operating as a number ten, sitting behind the forwards with license to arrive in the box on a consistent basis.
Build-up responsibilities will instead fall to Bernardo Silva and Fede Valverde from deeper positions, with Arda Güler also expected to contribute in that phase at times, freeing Bellingham to stay close to Kylian Mbappé and the rest of the front line.
Sunday's opening goal offered an early glimpse of the plan in action. Bellingham arrived exactly where Mourinho wants him to be found, converting a Güler assist just nine minutes in. It is that version of Bellingham, described as a midfielder with a forward's instincts, that Mourinho is determined to get back, one capable of easing the goalscoring burden on Mbappé as the season develops.
Mourinho also believes Bellingham's underwhelming form for periods of last season owed something to the physical toll of a long campaign that included a deep World Cup run, and expects him to be capable of sustaining 90 minutes of high-intensity, high-quality football once he reaches full fitness.
The manager's broader philosophy is not to restrict Bellingham's considerable physical capacity, but to redirect it toward the areas of the pitch where he believes it can be most destructive — close to goal, rather than shuttling box to box.