Birmingham City are braced to lose 17-year-old Jordan James this summer with Everton, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Wolves, Brighton, and Southampton among the Premier League sides keen on landing him, Football League World can exclusively reveal.

The midfielder has become a regular fixture in the first team under Lee Bowyer this season – having made his debut off the bench in the 3-0 victory over Bristol City in November.

James signed a new long-term contract with the Blues late last year that is set to keep him at St Andrew's until 2024 but it seems with top flight interest growing, there is a chance this could be his final season at the Championship club.

FLW understands that Birmingham are braced to lose the 17-year-old this summer as there are a host of Premier League sides keen on signing him.

James has caught the eye of scouts since breaking through into the first team, with Everton, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Wolves, Brighton, and Southampton all having run the rule over him in the past few weeks.

A product of the Blues' academy system, the teenager has also represented Wales at age-group level – most recently featuring for the U18s.

The rising interest will be no surprise to Bowyer, who labelled James a "tremendous asset" last month and added: "People are going to be looking at him for sure."

Birmingham are, of course, no strangers to seeing bigger clubs swoop for their brightest up-and-coming talents – with Jude Bellingham famously joining Borussia Dortmund in 2020 – but supporters will hope that the 17-year-old remains at the club heading into the 2022/23 campaign.