James Beadle is looking likely to join Birmingham City on loan from Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion
15:59, 13 Jun 2025Updated 16:17, 13 Jun 2025
James Beadle has joined Birmingham City on loan from Brighton
The signing of England under-21 international James Beadle would create some uncertainty in the Birmingham City goalkeeping department.
It is being widely reported that Blues will sign one of England’s most highly-rated goalkeepers in the form of 20-year-old Beadle on a loan deal from Brighton.
Beadle is currently keeping goal for England under-21s at the European Championships and his future is set to be clarified once the tournament is over.
Should all go as expected, Beadle will join a goalkeeping unit at Blues that already boasts Ryan Allsop, Bailey Peacock-Farrell and Brad Mayo.
The expectation is that Beadle’s arrival would spell the end of Peacock-Farrell’s time at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park. While the final decision will rest with manager Chris Davies, sources close to Peacock-Farrell have indicated that the goalkeeper will look to leave Blues during the summer.
Peacock-Farrell started last season as number one but lost his starting place after seven league games due to a series of mistakes.
Davies kept faith with Allsop for the remainder of the campaign and even drafted him into the Vertu Trophy XI at Peacock-Farrell’s expense for the semi-final and final.
Peacock-Farrell has an international career to reboot having recently lost his place in the Northern Ireland set-up and spending another season on the bench, or even in the stands, isn’t going to cut it.
Less clear-cut is how Beadle’s arrival would impact Allsop. Boyhood Bluenose Allsop excelled between the sticks last season and kept 24 clean sheets in 45 matches across all competitions.
Allsop claimed a Golden Glove award for the first time in his career courtesy of his 21 clean sheets in League One.
Whilst it would be easy to bill it as a live competition for the number one spot between Beadle and Allsop, it is highly unlikely that Brighton would agree to send their most promising young keeper to Blues without assurances over playing time.
Beadle has played 57 matches in the Championship for Sheffield Wednesday in the last 18 months, keeping 17 clean sheets, and is on the pathway to the Premier League.
Then there’s Mayo, Blues’ own rookie goalkeeper has reached the stage where he needs to play minutes. Mayo will turn 21 in September and is still waiting to make his first senior appearance.
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