Birmingham City receive transfer offer as 'terms agreed' after Wayne Rooney sacking

Birmingham City could have more than a manager search to conduct this January after an Italian club submitted an offer for one of their leading stars. Blues sacked Wayne Rooney today (January 2) and now reports in Italy have emerged about a possible move for one of their players.

A report from TuttomercatoWeb states that a €4.5m offer from Atalanta has been submitted for James. It is suggested that the Wales midfielder could be considered as the next Marten de Roon, as the Serie A side look to bolster their midfield options in the winter transfer window.

An offer of €4.5m roughly translates to about £3.9m, and now it leaves those in charge with a decision. Craig Gardner is the technical director whilst Garry Cook is the chief executive, and they will have to juggle whether to part ways with James whilst they remain without a manager or head coach. The potential sale of James could allow the new manager to have spending money available to him upon his appointment.

In addition to reports in Italy, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano says that personal terms have been agreed in anticipation of a possible move. In a post on the social media platform X, Romano said: "Atalanta sent formal bid to Birmingham City for Jordan James, talks advancing between the two clubs. "Initial fee will be around €4/4.5m plus add-ons. Welsh midfielder born in 2004 has agreed on personal terms, as TMW called."

James was subject of interest of Atalanta's league rivals Bologna, however the Bergamo club seem to have stolen a march. They currently have England-born striker Ademola Lookman on their books having played for the likes of Everton, Fulham and Leicester City. Atlanta also have former Premier League stars Sead Kolasinac and Gianluca Scamacca on their books.

James could be considered one of the best performers of Wayne Rooney's reign, and put in a phenomenal performance in the 3-2 defeat to Leicester City. The Hereford-born star who graduated from City's academy after joining from Hereford - has made 26 appearances this season with five goals scored. He made his debut for Wales in March 2023 and has gone on to win eight caps, starting their last four EURO 2024 qualifiers.