Birmingham City are one step closer to losing their star player as Che Adams nears a move away from St Andrew's.

Southampton - who had a bid rejected in January - look to be the club leading the race.

Adams has been on the Saints' radar for some time now, but they weren't the only team, with Everton and Burnley also having interest in the 22-year-old.

However, in spite of their interest, The Telegraph is reporting that Southampton will be paying around £14million for the forward.

The report says that in January the club made a £10million bid for Adams, which was duly rejected, amid fears of their point deduction and a potential transfer embargo of their own.

Allegedly, Southampton made a further bid upon the opening of this window and Adams' preference would be on the south coast.

Adams has three years remaining on his contract and finished last season as the top scorer for Birmingham, scoring 22 goals, providing four assists from 46 Championship games.

He played a part in every single league game last season and finished as the joint sixth top scorer in the division, bagging once every 170 minutes.

Earlier in the window, Southampton bought Malian winger Moussa Djenepo, 20, from Standard Liege, also for £14million.

The Verdict

I think £14million is a steal for the forward.

Of course, it's still a lot of money, but he fits the bill perfectly for Hassenhüttl at Southampton, and what he's trying to do there.

He likes players who can run and put a shift in, who also have quality and pace; Adams has that in abundance.

Southampton are right to be leading the chase on this and get it done early. It might seem a lot of money now, but for an English 22-year-old as talented as Adams, it's a no brainer.

When clubs are forced to buy a bit later on in the window this will look like a marvellous piece of business.