Ipswich Town are said to be 'leading the chase' for Birmingham City star Jordan James.

The central midfielder was a bright spot in a side that were relegated from the Championship last season. Already, at the age of 20, he has more than 100 senior club appearances and 11 caps for Wales under his belt.

Newcastle, Brentford and Brighton scouts are all said to have watched him in action, Italian clubs Atalanta and Fiorentina were linked back in January, while Leicester and Southampton have been added to the list of reported suitors.

HITC says that the Blues are the frontrunners to sign the midfielder though, who has reportedly been 'made available for a fee of over £10m'.

 

Stu's verdict

The fact that Ipswich Town recently tried to bring Flynn Downes back to Portman Road for £18m recently shows that Kieran McKenna is keen to strengthen a central midfield unit that is currently made up of Sam Morsy, Massimo Luongo, Jack Taylor and Cameron Humphreys.

The Blues boss wants to work with and develop the brightest talent in the game and James certainly falls in that category. He was recently nominated for the EFL Young Player of the Year award, while Wales boss Rob Page has said he's a player who 'has got everything'.

“I think he has proven at top international level, against top midfielders in Croatia, to name one team, that he is more than capable of playing at that level as a (number) six,” said Page, in May. Town's Welsh contingent of Wes Burns, Nathan Broadhead and the now departed Kieffer Moore will surely have passed on glowing reports to McKenna too.

James ticks all the 'young, hungry, technical and athletic' boxes at the heart of Town's recruitment strategy. There's still enough money left in the budget to get this deal done too.