Birmingham City: Pundit makes worrying Jordan James transfer claim | OneFootball

Jordan James has understandably attracted a lot of interest from Premier League clubs, as well as some of the top teams on the continent.

The Wales international has impressed many this season, despite the shortcomings of many players, and other people at Birmingham City.

In a season that has been full of odd choices and confusing performances, he has been one of the few things that people can look at and be happy with when it comes to Birmingham.

His play this season has earned him a place in the top three for the Championship's Young Player of the Year award, alongside Leeds United's Archie Gray and Norwich City's Jonathan Rowe, and it's also attracted the interest of many top clubs. Italian side Atalanta were said to have made a €5 million bid for the 19-year-old in the January transfer window, and other teams like Fiorentina and Bologna are said to be interested in James.

Some suitors from the Premier League have also been named as those who want the midfielder, including Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Crystal Palace. Birmingham are said to value the teenager at £10 million, according to the Daily Mail.

As the Blues sink deeper and deeper into the relegation battle, their hands may be forced on James. Football pundit Carlton Palmer believes that this would be the case, if they were to be relegated.

Cartlon Palmer on the chances of Jordan James staying at Birmingham City next season

The former England midfielder doesn't see how the Blues will keep hold of the midfielder if they end up finishing in the bottom three.

Speaking to Football League World, he said: "Birmingham are in huge trouble at the bottom of the Championship. It's amazing how many things can go wrong when you make the wrong decision. I think it was the wrong decision to get rid of John Eustace and bring Wayne Rooney into the football club, and, I'm not saying anything against Rooney, the people had high expectations of what they wanted, but Wayne came in and what the players to play in a way that the players couldn't play.

"They then made a great appointment in Tony Mowbray. I thought that was a fantastic decision. But now, with him having to go on sick leave, they have a huge problem. They sit in the bottom three with 42 points and are in serious trouble. They have four or five defeats in their last six games. It's really difficult, and players like James won't want to stay at Birmingham if they are relegated to League One.

"There's a lot of interest in the player. Should they stay in the Championship, he would stay and keep playing regular football. It could still be the case that, if they're in the second tier, they could cash in on him so that they can rebuild, so they don't find themselves in the same situation that they are in. They have new owners who have a lot of money.

"There's a lot of interest in James. Birmingham's first step to keeping him would be to secure their Championship status. Without that, I can't see how he would stay with the club next season."

Birmingham City need to take a long, hard look in the mirror

Things started so well for the Blues with Eustace in charge at the start of the season, and then they shot themselves in the foot, then in the leg, then in the arm, and they're close to shooting themselves in the face now.

Choices like bringing in Gary Rowett until the end of the season, and appointing Mowbray to replace Rooney, have been smart, understandable ones, but they have to have a big review of what went wrong this season, regardless of whether they survive the drop or not, because the position that they find themselves in is completely self-inflicted.

They've somehow managed to mess up this season, even though they went out and brought in some good players in the summer. Jay Stansfield, Cody Drameh, Siriki Dembélé, Koji Miyoshi. These are just a few of the talented players that they signed at the start of the season, and yet they've managed to completely mess things up.