Lukas Jutkiewicz features: These 6 Birmingham City players will leave at the end of 2024/25 as things stand | OneFootball

Football League World takes a look at the players currently set to leave Birmingham City in 2025...

Birmingham City cleared house remarkably across the summer transfer window, leaving them largely free of contractual concerns heading into 2025.

No less than sixteen players departed St Andrews @ Knightead Park, many of whom had become peripheral members of the squad and somewhat at odds with the progressive and ambitious upwards trajectory spearheaded by Tom Wagner and co.

Expendable members of the squad which was relegated from the Championship last season such as Ivan Sunjic, Neil Etheridge, Gary Gardner, Marc Roberts and Scott Hogan were all released, while fees were collected for assets in Siriki Dembélé, Juninho Bacuna and Jordan James.

Much discourse has surrounded the magnitude and expenditure of Blues' incomings during the recent window but they deserve merit for offloading some high-earning, aging players too. By doing so, they have left themselves in a comfortable situation regarding expiring contracts - only two permanent deals are set to expire at the end of the season.

But with no shortage of loan arrivals to run the rule over either, Football League World has decided to assess the six players currently poised to leave the blue quarters of the Second City next year...

Lukas Jutkiewicz

Lukas Jutkiewicz was primed to leave Birmingham on a free transfer this summer before the club offered a fresh one-year deal, enabling him to enter his ninth season in the West Midlands.

The 35-year-old has made more than 300 appearances for Blues, scoring on 67 occasions. However, the veteran frontman will celebrate his 36th birthday before the conclusion of the campaign and will doubtlessly see opportunities come at a premium following the blockbuster arrivals of Jay Stansfield and Alfie May.

Jutkiewicz has been a marvelous servant to the side in years gone by and still remains a fan favourite, though the writing appears to be on the wall come next summer.

Keshi Anderson

There was also recent uncertainty pertaining to the immediate future of Keshi Anderson, who had been set to see his deal expire before being handed a one-year extension, too.

The winger is now in his second season with Blues and has even been among their most impressive performers thus far, despite the stern competition in wide areas.

Anderson has previously shown he can perform in the Championship, which is where Blues will surely find themselves next season. He also appears to be a highly-valued member of Chris Davies' team, but Birmingham's ambition and ability to bolster the squad wherever and whenever they see fit offers no guarantees.

It will be interesting, then, to see how this one pans out over the coming months.

Luke Harris

Luke Harris was one of four loan arrivals at Birmingham during the summer, although his agreement does not include an purchase option for the club like some of their others.

Still only 19, the Fulham loanee is highly-regarded at his parent club and has already represented Wales at senior international level, while he caught the eye on loan with Exeter City last term.

At face value, a permanent deal for the creative midfielder may appear out of Blues' reach, but they ended up landing Stansfield from the Cottagers after his loan spell by shelling out a reported £15m sum to send shockwaves up and down the country.

You would imagine that Birmingham's financial muscle would be called into action once again in the event that Harris impresses sufficiently enough to make them consider turning the move into a long-term one.

However, Blues have shown that they can defy the odds and lodge irresistible offers for their chief targets so it cannot be ruled out by any stretch of the imagination.

Alfons Sampsted

Alfons Sampsted was among a number of players to trade the Eredivisie for the League One title favourites in the summer, signing on a season-long loan deal from FC Twente with a purchase option included.

It is not yet clear just how much Blues would have to stump up for Sampsted, who made 29 appearances in the Dutch top-flight last term. The 26-year-old boasts impressive pedigree at both club and international level but faces stiff competition at right-back from Ethan Laird.

Unless he can displace the Manchester United academy graduate in the weeks and months to come, it would be difficult to see Birmingham electing to activate their permanent option.

Taylor Gardner-Hickman

Birmingham's midfield appears the most significant source of strength for Davies this term, who has impressive options in Seung-Ho Paik, Marc Leonard and Taylor Gardner-Hickman at his disposal.

The latter arrived on loan from Bristol City, having spent the first-half of last season on loan there before signing permanently in January. Gardner-Hickman does not seem to figure in Liam Manning's long-term plans and Birmingham reportedly have the option to purchase the 22-year-old for £1.5m next summer.

Having already tallied up more than 70 Championship appearances with both the Robins and West Bromwich Albion, Birmingham could quite well activate that option if he meets the vast expectation he will have in the third-tier - and it may represent very shrewd business, too.

Ben Davies

Perhaps Blues' most eye-catching loan coup of the window, bringing in Ben Davies from Rangers was yet another reminder of their intent this season.

The 29-year-old was up there with the finest central defenders in the Championship during his time at Preston End, prompting a shock move to then-reigning Premier League champions Liverpool.

Davies never turned out for the Reds and did just lose his way somewhat at Rangers, but it remains inspired business for League One level. A purchase option has not been reported, but Blues may well look to sign him permanently anyway, should he come close to matching his levels at Deepdale.