Birmingham City: Tom Wagner and Garry Cook decision has affected Jordan James stance - View | OneFootball

Birmingham City will be playing League One football next season, following a disastrous 2023/24.

The season had started really well for the Blues, with the club sitting sixth in the Championship come October 2023.

However, the decision made by Tom Wagner and Garry Cook to sack then-manager John Eustace and replace him with Wayne Rooney, who only lasted until early January, caused Birmingham to slide down the table and ultimately ended with relegation to the third tier.

With the club relegated down to a lower tier, some of their star players may not be sticking around for much longer. One such player is Jordan James, who will likely follow interest from higher levels rather than play third tier football at St Andrew's next season. Fabrizio Romano has already noted a desire on the player's part to move on.

Wagner, Cook decision to sack John Eustace

The sacking of John Eustace came about when the club were sitting sixth in the Championship table, having had a good start to the season.

Eustace had taken the reins at the club the season before, and had guided the club to it's highest point tally since 2016, so when the good form put the Second City side into the play-offs, many fans would have been dreaming of a lofty finish come the end of the season.

However, in a statement released by Birmingham in early October, it was easy to see that Eustace and his management team were perhaps not fully aligned with the direction that the directors wanted to take the club in, which is why he and his team were sacked.

The statement highlighted that the club wanted a manager who was "fully aligned on the importance of implementing a winning mentality and a culture of ambition across the entire Football Club".

With that said, then, the club promptly replaced Eustace with Wayne Rooney. The appointment of the former Manchester United striker did not have the desired effect, however.

In his 15 games in charge, Rooney lost nine and only won twice, and this poor form became the catalyst for the immediate slide down the table, and eventually to relegation.

Relegation likely to push Jordan James towards the exit door

One of the shining lights of Birmingham's season, despite the disappointing relegation, has been the continued emergence of Jordan James.

The youngster was promoted into the first team under Lee Bowyer in 2021, but it is in the season just gone that James has cemented himself as a very promising youngster at club level and on the international stage.

In his 42 Championship appearances this season, the midfielder has contributed eight goals, and has not looked out of place in the Championship, despite only being 19 years old.

With these stats then, combined with the fact that third tier football is likely to be a very unattractive prospect for such a talented player, James may be heading toward the exit door.

And this exit can be linked all the way back to the decision by Wagner and Cook in October, which is surely going to leave a multitude of Birmingham fans deeply disappointed.

Jordan James transfer latest

Having discussed the decision to sack Eustace and how it may have had a knock-on effect for one of the team's star players, the final question to answer is, where will Jordan James depart to?

The young midfielder has been linked with moves throughout the season, and the side from B9 were perhaps quite lucky to keep hold of him in January following links to Italian clubs Atalanta and Fiorentina, as well as multiple English clubs, over the winter window.

However, as mentioned above, the ending of this season and the prospect of third tier football is unlikely to please James, and he wants to move to pastures new, per these reports.

The most recent reports, from Fabrizio Romano on his X, formerly Twitter page, have the Welsh international linked to Atalanta once again. However, there has been reported interest from multiple Premier League sides too, with Crystal Palace and newly-promoted Leicester City among the sides credited with interest.

Whoever does end up signing the 19-year-old, eight-times-capped Welshman will be getting a fantastic player who has the best years of his career well ahead of him, and plenty of time to grow.