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Without wishing any success on their bitter rivals, privately there would have Birmingham City fans glad to finally see the back of Aston Villa.

Double despair last season, winless in six Championship outings and with just one victory in the last 16 meetings, Blues have had it tough against arch-enemies Villa.

And while the hype of the Second City derby will be missed next term, that nervous worry and subsequent frustration certainly won’t be on the blue side of Birmingham.

Villa’s promotion back to the Premier League has altered the landscape - yet still they’re finding a way to heap misery on their nearby neighbours.

Signing Jota, a valuable key performer, for what BirminghamLive understands to be a fee of just £1m plus Gary Gardner was frustrating enough.

And now Villa seemed to have paved the way for Southampton to increase the bid for star man Che Adams following their own pursuit of £14m left-back Matt Targett.

Two previous bids of £12m and £14m from the Saints had been rejected by Blues and they were even starting to consider other targets.

But a £16m offer for Adams - on the same day as Southampton accepted a £11.5m bid rising to £14m for Targett - appears to have done the trick.

Reports are now suggesting that Blues’ top goalscorer is on the move and has said his goodbyes.

His departure, albeit an expected one, will come as another blow to supporters who have seen Jota leave - and the surprise sacking of much-loved manager Garry Monk.

While Blues will receive a healthy profit on the striker they paid Sheffield United just £2m for, Southampton appear to be getting the better deal.

In fine form after a blistering campaign where he scored 22 goals, the 22-year-old will only get better.

And to think, the Saints have offloaded their back-up left-back to help fund the Adams deal. Not bad business at all.