21 Under 21: Jordan James (Birmingham)

Episode #5 | George Elek and Ali Maxwell list the most outstanding young players in the EFL.

21 Under 21 will be released every weekday at noon in June, with paid subscribers unlocking early access to all video content.

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“He has every part of his game that you’re looking for in a box-to-box midfielder… I cannot imagine a world where Jordan James is playing League One football next season” — George Elek

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Jordan James

Birmingham City — Championship, 2023/24:

• Born: 2 July 2004

• Position: Central midfielder

• League appearances: 42

• League starts: 25

💥 A box-crashing, all-action midfielder

If you thought Birmingham City’s conveyor belt of talent started and ended with players called Bellingham, think again. The second-city club have a number of young stars still on their books, the most prominent being 19-year-old Welsh midfielder Jordan James.

James is a box-crashing, all-action midfielder with an eye for goal. Despite playing under five different head coaches in 2023/24, neither James’ match time nor his development was stunted. He played well over 2,000 minutes in the Championship, scoring eight goals in the process – in fact, only Jay Stansfield (12) scored more league goals in the Blues’ ill-fated campaign.

James has also stood out at international level, operating in a slightly deeper role. Heavily linked with clubs in the Premier League, Championship and even Serie A, the midfielder is ready to spread his wings this summer.

📈 At a glance

Pizza charts informed by match data. Each chart rates a chosen player from 0-99 across different metrics (e.g. Dribbles) according to their “percentile rank”. A 75 score shows a player outperforming 75% of other players in the dataset. Each dataset is position-specific. Negative metrics are reversed. [Credit: Riley Roberts.]

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▶️ Watch: Episode 5