Birmingham City may be bewildered at news involving Jordan James and Wrexham | OneFootball

Blues could miss out on some extra funds if their academy graduate returns to the EFL

Birmingham City and Wrexham have forged a mini-rivalry of sorts in the past year or so, mainly linked to the well-documented American ownership groups at both clubs.

Blues and the Red Dragons were also the main reason why there was such a vast spotlight on developments in League One last term, with the Second City outfit conducting a club and division-high transfer spend en-route to the EFL record points total of 111, whilst Phil Parkinson's men became the first-ever side to achieve three successive promotions from the National League to the Championship.

Both clubs have also made it their intention to stamp an immediate impression on the second-tier, with Birmingham making a plethora of further statement transfer moves in the form of Kyogo Furuhashi, Demarai Gray, Tommy Doyle and Eiran Cashin among others, whilst Wrexham have once again shattered their own transfer record with the capture of Nathan Broadhead from Ipswich Town.

And, with the Welsh outfit looking to achieve a respectable finish in their first second-tier campaign since 1982, they aren't exactly finished with their own business yet, and another potential incoming could slightly rankle the higher-ups at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

Jordan James could return to the Championship as Wrexham AFC plot ambitious transfer raid

After making several experienced signings such as Kieffer Moore, Josh Windass, Conor Coady, Danny Ward and Lewis O'Brien among others, Parkinson is clearly on the hunt to further bolster an already stacked central midfield department.

With Wrexham also unafraid to splash the cash under the ownership of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, it has been revealed by French outlet, L'Équipe, that the club are looking to secure the services of ex-Blues academy graduate Jordan James, just a year after the 20-time international swapped the West Midlands for Brittany, moving to Rennes for a fee in excess of £8m after impressing during the chaotic relegation season of 2023/24.

In his first season at Roahzon Park, the Hereford-born man had to bide his time when it came to regular minutes, eventually making 25 appearances, scoring and assisting once.

It was then reported in June that the 21-year-old could be making a swift return to England, with reports linking the box-to-box midfielder with a move to newly-promoted Burnley. As Football League World exclusively revealed, a move to the newly-promoted Premier League side would have landed Blues a cash windfall after the insertion of a clause in which they would receive approximately 10 percent of the profit made on his initial departure from B9.

But that will not be the case if Wrexham and Rennes are to agree terms based on the transfer fee which has been mooted.

Wrexham AFC deal for Jordan James could see Birmingham City lose out on extra cash windfall

Whilst Birmingham would have only been set to bank approximately £330,000 if James moved to Burnley for the £12m sum reported by Alan Nixon in June, it would have still been a handy bonus for Knighthead Capital Management in their quest to see the club promoted to the top flight as swiftly as possible.

However, in L'Équipe's aforementioned report, it has been claimed that Wrexham are negotiating with the Ligue 1 club for a deal in the region of €5m, which is at least £3m less than the figure which James was sold for - a deal which also saw Blues make total profit due to the midfielder progressing through the ranks.

Therefore, this would be seen as a major coup for Wrexham if they are able to push forward with the deal in the coming days, and it will no doubt cause a slight annoyance for their divisional rivals that he has, one, moved to the Stok Cae Ras, and two, that they have lost out on a welcome added bonus.

Regardless, Chris Davies will no doubt be focusing on doing the talking on the pitch and in the table, which has seen Blues take four points from the opening two games, whilst Wrexham have suffered defeats to Southampton and West Bromwich Albion.