This potential Birmingham City appointment could be enough for Jordan James to want to stay put.
Birmingham City will want their next management choice to be their final selection on the St. Andrew’s hot seat for some time, having gone through managers so quickly in recent years.
This season, the Blues have had four different managers, with Tony Mowbray only in charge for a few months, although the experienced 60-year-old manager stepped down due to health reasons rather than being fired violently.
This impending appointment feels like the most important in a long time, with the Blues now wallowing in League One ahead of what might be an intriguing season for Birmingham fans to hang onto, especially if they taste promotion at the first opportunity.
Just ask Mowbray’s former teams, Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers, about their experiences in the third tier, with the demoted Blues appropriately focusing on a recent promotion winner from the level to avoid overstaying their welcome in the poor division.
Birmingham looking at “shrewd” Mowbray successor
The overwhelming leader for the West Midlands post remains former Black Cats manager Alex Neil, who was quickly welcomed by Sunderland fans during his brief tenure in command, securing promotion following only 24 games in the role.
With the Scotsman also having been interviewed, it may only be a matter of time before his official declaration, as a number of football pundits express their opinions on the former promotion-winning manager.
Carlton Palmer, speaking with Football League World, praised Neil’s possible acquisition as a “great” appointment, complimenting his “shrewd” tactical approach during his career, which also included promotion to the Premier League with Norwich City.
Why Neil could benefit Jordan James
The Scot will have to make do with scrapping it in the third tier again, but the ambitious move for the 42-year-old could be enough to keep Jordan James at St. Andrew’s for another year, rather than becoming another youth product like Jude or Jobe Bellingham, who left Birmingham for better things just as they were getting going.
Birmingham currently have a reputation for giving young diamonds the opportunity to shine through their acclaimed youth setup all the way up to the main team, as evidenced by the aforementioned names above and, more recently, the explosive James.
The 19-year-old, who has earned a place in Wales’ senior squad despite a poor relegation season, scored eight goals from the centre of the park last season and has the potential to tear League One apart if retained.
The tenacious 19-year-old could well look to what Neil got out of Wes Hoolahan during his time in Norfolk with the iconic attack-oriented midfielder to then stick around, as the now 42-year-old picked up a fantastic 15 goal contributions from just 36 games on the way to promotion glory at the end of the 2014-15 season.
However, the attraction of clubs such as far-flung Atalanta in Italy and Premier League suitors West Ham United may be too much for the indigenous gem to refuse, even if the XI for the coming season is built around him.
Neil will just need to persuade the 19-year-old phenom to stay and compete for the Blues next season, with the Scotsman’s promotion credentials potentially convincing the Welsh youth if he realizes his still-fledging career will only be delayed for a year or so.
