Birmingham City have the chance to lay down a transfer marker if Blackburn do come calling

One Blues midfielder is attracting attention from elsewhere in the Championship

This summer’s transfer window did feel like Birmingham City issued a statement of intent to the rest of the Championship.

Shelby Companies LTD purchased a controlling stake in the Midlands club at the end of last season, and CEO Tom Wagner was chosen as the club’s new chairman.

That was followed by a flurry of activity in the transfer market at St Andrews’, with the new owners clearly eager to demonstrate their dedication and ambition for the club.

Birmingham recruited 12 new players for head coach John Eustace’s first-team squad, with fees paid to gain the services of six of those players.

Early indications suggest that the club’s new owners are willing to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to financing the team.

This has translated into a solid start on the pitch, with the Blues now sixth in the Championship table after six league games, with 11 points.

Off the field, it appears that the club’s new shareholders,

Which teams are interested in Jordan James?
According to reports from writer Alan Nixon on Sunday, interest in James is already building as emphasis shifts to the January transfer window.

Lecce, which reportedly made approaches for the midfielder in the summer and remain interested in his services, is one club rumored to be interested in securing his services.

However, Birmingham’s Championship rivals Blackburn Rovers are also said to be interested in James, and it is in response to that interest that the Blues may arguably send out another strong message to the rest of the division.

How should Birmingham react to Blackburn’s pursuit of James?
While it has been claimed that James may leave Birmingham in quest of more regular playing time after struggling to fit into Eustace’s system – he has started only one Championship game this season – how Birmingham react to a prospective move from Blackburn could be telling.

Blackburn have reportedly identified James as a possible replacement for their own youthful midfield prodigy, Adam Wharton.

Wharton was reportedly valued at £20 million by Blackburn earlier this month, following interest from a number of Premier League clubs in the summer.

As a result, if Rovers do make a bid for James in January, it is likely that they will have money to spend on such a signing thanks to the sale of Wharton.

As a result, you believe Birmingham will have to guarantee they obtain a significant compensation from Blackburn if they are to allow James to relocate to Ewood Park, as they will not want to be regarded as allowing one of their players to leave.

Indeed, James’ contract with Birmingham has two years left on it, with the option to extend it for another year, thereby insuring his future at St Andrew’s until the end of the 2025/26 season.

That, of course, means they won’t be under any pressure to sell James during the January transfer window, allowing them plenty of room to negotiate a large fee with Blackburn for the midfielder’s departure if that’s the path they want to take with his future.

It should also be mentioned that, while there is no doubt that James has a lot of promise, they may not want to let him go just yet because he may still be able to develop into a player who can contribute and become an asset to this team.

With all of that in mind, it appears clear that whatever Birmingham’s long-term plans for James are, one thing is certain: they cannot afford to make a move to Blackburn for the midfielder easy for their Championship rivals to complete if they want to maintain the apparent positivity that seems to have been built around St Andrew’s since that takeover in the summer.