Birmingham City are reportedly set to appoint Mowbray successor who has the potential to keep James.
This prospective Birmingham City appointment may be enough to convince Jordan James 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 seems 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 supporters 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 seeking for a “shrewd” Mowbray replacement.
The clear leader for the West Midlands post remains former Black Cats manager Alex Neil, who was instantly welcomed by Sunderland supporters 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 until his formal declaration, as a number of football commentators express their opinions on the former promotion-winning manager.
| Neil’s managerial record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Games managed | Wins | Draws | Losses |
| Stoke City | 66 | 22 | 13 | 31 |
| Sunderland | 24 | 12 | 9 | 3 |
| Preston North End | 191 | 73 | 46 | 72 |
| Norwich City | 108 | 45 | 21 | 42 |
| Hamilton Academical | 77 | 43 | 15 | 19 |
| Sourced by Transfermarkt | ||||
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 via their acclaimed youth setup all the way up to the main team, as seen 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 center of the field last season and has the potential to tear League One apart if retained.
| Jordan James’ stats – 2023/24 | |
|---|---|
| Games played | 47 |
| Goals | 8 |
| Assists | 0 |
| Shots per game | 1.0 |
| Big chances created | 3 |
| Balls recovered per game | 2.6 |
| Stats per Transfermarkt/Sofascore | |
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 teams such as far-flung Atalanta in Italy and Premier League rivals West Ham United may be too much for the indigenous gem to refuse, even if the XI for the next season is built around him.
Neil will just need to persuade the 19-year-old phenom to remain and compete for the Blues next season, with the Scotsman’s promotion credentials perhaps convincing the Welsh youth if he realizes his still-fledging career would only be delayed for a year or so.
