Birmingham City would rest easier about Jordan James departing with this summer capture.
Anyone with any connection to Birmingham City knows that it will be very difficult to keep Jordan James at St. Andrew’s, particularly following such a terrible relegation.
With teams like Atalanta scouting him from Italy, the 19-year-old Blues asset will understandably want to try himself elsewhere now that his childhood club has slipped to League One for the first time in 29 years. This might be an exciting new journey for the indigenous gem.
Anyone with any connection to Birmingham City knows that it will be very difficult to keep Jordan James at St. Andrew’s, particularly following such a terrible relegation.
With teams like Atalanta scouting him from Italy, the 19-year-old Blues player will naturally want to try himself abroad now that his childhood club has slipped to League One for the first time in 29 years. This might be an exciting new journey for the homegrown talent.
Fortunately for Chris Davies’ team, if a deal is made in upcoming transfer window, the loss of their youthful superstar could be somewhat mitigated by a move for another midfield gem.
Birmingham examining a sought-after jewel
After playing brilliantly for Northampton Town on loan for the previous two seasons, Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Marc Leonard is expected to leave the Seagulls this summer on a permanent deal, according to trade guru Fabrizio Romano.
Because of that, a number of different third-tier teams are showing interest in signing him. Birmingham and Wrexham are already vying for his services, while freshly promoted Oxford United from the Championship is also throwing in their hat. These three teams are reportedly “leading the race” for his signature.
The Scottish midfielder, who was on fire for Jon Brady’s Cobblers last season and led his loan team to an impressive 14th-place finish shortly after winning promotion, is a complete steal for whichever team wins the battle for his services at £300k, according to Romano’s additional statement.
Therefore, Birmingham will want to keep pushing and overcome Wrexham and Oxford from the league above for his signing in order to secure the perfect James replacement, who would definitely bolster Davies’ team prior to the challenge of striving for immediate promotion success.
Why Leonard could be the dream James replacement
Leonard might get even better playing for Birmingham, who will be looking to win the third division the following season, after having a successful season in League One with a middling team.
With five goals and six assists from the centre of the field for Brady’s team in all competitions, the former Scotland U21 international matched James’ eight goals and zero assists in the tier above in the process.
If a deal is reached, Birmingham would have the ideal replacement for the 19-year-old, who is arguably displaying more versatility than James did for the Blues with the Cobblers last season. James’ numbers for touches per game were blown out of the water, in addition to ball recoveries.
Brady said the 22-year-old had the ability to “go all the way to the top” and that the Blues would be making a steal if he moved to the West Midlands. Brady even said that Celtic or Scottish Rangers, two massive teams, should have the player on their shopping lists this summer.
James, who has 11 caps for the senior Wales team, is a player that, if he continues on his present upward trajectory—West Ham United is also interested in him—will have a noteworthy career.
However, Birmingham could do much worse than swooping in for Leonard as a possible promotion-winning squad begins to build, should they be helpless to lose their shining prodigy.
