Former Birmingham City Struggles At New Club After Leaving For Specific Reason

Jordan James swapped Birmingham City for Rennes during the summer transfer window.

Jordan James has endured a difficult start to life in France since leaving boyhood club Birmingham City during the summer.

Blues belatedly sold James to Rennes in July after the Wales international had featured in all of their friendlies. The 20-year-old looked set to play an integral role under Chris Davies before opting out on the eve of the season.

The transfer to Rennes ended six months of speculation over James’ future after Blues rejected multiple bids from Serie A club Atalanta during the January transfer window. Manager at the time, Tony Mowbray, talked James up and made comparisons with Adam Wharton – who moved to Crystal Palace from Blackburn for a reported £18.5m – but Blues won’t get half of that figure, even if all add-ons are secured.

James could eventually bring in around £8m, which was significant during a summer of heavy spending for Blues, and he can’t be blamed for swapping League One for Ligue 1.

“I’ve been at Birmingham City my whole life but I wanted something new,” said James. “When I spoke to this club, the ambition and the way it’s going is something that I want to be a part of.

“It was a decision that me and my family made. I want to play in the top flight of football and that is what this club does. I want to be fighting for Champions League and Europa League and this was the perfect opportunity to do that.”

But James can best be described as a bit-part player for Rennes at the moment. James hasn’t started a game for Rennes yet and he hasn’t made it off their bench in two of their five league fixtures.

Rennes manager Julien Stéphan has preferred ex-Leeds United midfielder Glen Kamara, Azor Matusiwa, Albert Grønbæk and Baptiste Santamaria to James in the opening weeks of the season.

James has been afforded just 27 minutes of action across three substitute appearances for Rennes. He is still in favour for his country and played 117 minutes for Wales during their recent Nations League double-header.

Without James in their line-up, Rennes have made an indifferent start to the season with two wins, one draw and two defeats. They take on Paris Saint-Germain on Friday night.