By james art Birmingham City have been blessed with a number of top talents coming through their academy in recent years, far from the star quality available to Chris Davies currently in League One.
Jordan James was the latest breakout star from the Blues’ youth set-up when he left for Rennes this summer, costing the Ligue 1 club a substantial £4million after he burst into life for his boyhood club from the middle of the park.
Of course, there is a more notable midfield ace who called Birmingham home as a star learning the ropes before a big move materialised, in Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham.
Bellingham’s time with Birmingham
Before all that happened for the former Blues youngster, Bellingham were the EFL club’s cream of the crop when it came to top local prodigies rising through the ranks, with the then-teenager making his Birmingham debut in 2019 aged just 16 on age.
The rest is clearly history, with Bellingham scoring four goals and two assists from 44 appearances for the St Andrews first team before leaving his boyhood club for Borussia Dortmund just one season into his men’s development.
At least Birmingham managed to save quite a bit of money from Bellingham’s sad departure, which even led the club to retire his number 22 shirt, with Dortmund paying a hefty fee of around £25m.
The now 21-year-old has reached incredible heights at the Santiago Bernabeu to fully justify Birmingham’s decision to ditch his number 22 armband, with an incredible 23 goals and 16 assists to his name now from 52 appearances in Spain.
He would also become a national treasure this summer at the Euros for England, scoring that dramatic overhead kick, further establishing himself as a world-beater away from his adoration in Madrid and the West Midlands.
Birmingham haven’t always been so lucky to make a lot of money from the sale of some of their best academy products, but this low sale in 2013 no doubt irked those looking back.
Nathan Redmond’s time in Birmingham
Nathan Redmond was arguably the original Bellingham before the teenager left his mark on proceedings at St Andrews, having also been thrust into the first-team squad from an early age.
He also made his debut for the men at the tender age of 16 in 2010 before becoming a regular under Lee Clarke in the Birmingham side.
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The five youngest players in Birmingham history |
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|---|---|
|
Player |
Age at debut |
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1. Jude Bellingham |
16 years, 1 month + 8 days |
|
2. Job Bellingham |
16 years, 3 months + 16 days |
|
3. Nathan Redmond |
16 years, 5 months + 20 days |
|
4. Jordan Mutch |
16 years, 8 months + 24 days |
|
5. Romol Donovan |
16 years, 10 months + 25 days |
|
Source Transfermarkt |
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In illustrious company in the table above with the well-known Bellingham brothers, Redmond would go on to make far more appearances at St Andrews than the current La Liga star managed, with an impressive nine goals and 11 assists from a total of 82 appearances.
You’d think this would result in a club having to break the bank to secure Redmond’s services, but following Birmingham’s disappointing 12th-place finish in the Championship in the 2012/13 campaign, top division Norwich City pounced to win it at a discounted price.
The Canaries would go on to buy the dynamic winger from Clarke and Co. for just £3m, with the Birmingham-born striker becoming a regular in the Premier League for both Norwich and Southampton over many seasons, amassing 276 Premier League appearances. basically wearing a saints ribbon.
The Blues must now regret making a tougher deal, but will be looking to find their next Bellingham and Redmond here and now, with St Andrews clearly fertile ground for youngsters to thrive.
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