Birmingham City have been splashing the cash since their relegation to League One and Chris Davies’ squad is beginning to take shape.
Birmingham City has added eight players so far this summer, none of them were on loan or were free agents, in an effort to bolster their team in preparation for an immediate return to the Championship.
Christoph Klarer, Willum Thor Willumsson, Emil Hansson, Alex Cochrane, Ryan Allsop, Alfie May, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, and Marc Leonard are the eight additions in question. Eight players have also left the Blues to make place for their most recent additions.
Neil Etheridge, Gary Gardner, Marc Roberts, John Ruddy, and Zach Jeacock all left on free transfers and joined Buriram United, Cambridge United, Barnsley, Newcastle United, and Lincoln City, in that order. Alex Prichard, meantime, completed a transfer to Sivasspor for an undisclosed sum, and Scott Hogan and Ivan Sunjic, who were released, have not yet found a club.
Here, we examine three players who might profit from leaving Birmingham City before the season starts, joining the eight players…
Jordan James
James’ future is undoubtedly up for discussion, especially in light of Birmingham City’s ambitions thus far this summer. For the bright new talent, it might make sense to approve a move away.
Despite only turning 20 this month, the Wales international has already made 105 appearances for the Blues. Since making his debut in 2021 as a 17-year-old, he has scored 10 goals and provided two assists.
The Blues have the option to extend James’ contract by an additional year, but his present deal is scheduled to expire in the summer of 2020. As such, the third-tier team would be well to take advantage of James while his value is still high. If his contract is extended until 2026, they run the danger of losing him if he decides to leave when it expires.
Although there have been no reports of James leaving Birmingham City, it was previously stated that he was considering moving. But this summer might be the ideal time for his trajectory to advance.
Emmanuel Longelo
The possibility that Longelo would gain from starting again somewhere else is increased by the signing of Cochrane from Hearts.
The 23-year-old left-back played in 20 games for Birmingham City in the last campaign, but he was clearly below Lee Buchanan in the starting lineup. With the addition of a new player from the Scottish Premiership, Buchanan may now be even lower on the list.
Longelo made his permanent transfer from West Ham to the club last summer, although he didn’t seem to have the anticipated effect.
Even though the Blues are in League One, their team is clearly of a superior calibre, thus even with his diminished position for the lower-division team, the young defender might still be productive in the Championship. Having said that, he would be a great choice for a division competitor as well, and a loan move out with a buyout option may benefit all sides.
Brandon Khela
Another prospect that will be impacted by Birmingham City’s summer transfer activity is versatile midfielder Khela. As a result, it is unlikely that the young player will fully establish himself in the first team.
The 19-year-old earned his senior debut for the team in a Carabao Cup cameo against Cheltenham Town at the start of the previous campaign. After making a similar appearance in his league debut against Huddersfield Town in October, he went to Scotland to play on loan for Ross County.
With 17 appearances in all competitions, Khela has now had a taste of first team football and would undoubtedly want to play a complete season in and around a senior setup. His Scottish Premiership games were primarily from the bench, therefore a loan move where he could play a more significant role would undoubtedly be advantageous.
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