Football League World
·14 July 2024
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·14 July 2024
Alfie May made the switch from Charlton Athletic to Birmingham City this summer
Alfie May has revealed the role that Chris Davies played in his decision to move from Charlton Athletic to Birmingham City.
The 31-year-old has made the switch to St Andrew's following their relegation to League One.
The Blues will be aiming to fight for promotion to the Championship at the first attempt, with Davies now in charge of the first-team squad.
He was previously the assistant coach at Tottenham Hotspur under Ange Postecoglou, also working with the Australian during his time at Celtic.
Davies has also been an assistant to Brendan Rodgers, gaining experience at Swansea City, Liverpool and Leicester City.
May has credited Davies and technical director Craig Gardner for convincing him that the Midlands outfit were the right fit for him.
The forward revealed his excitement regarding the new style of play that the 39-year-old is hoping to utilise at Birmingham.
“The big thing was what Craig and the gaffer sat down and spoke about, where they want to be, and for me as a footballer coming into the game late I want to play as high as I possibly can,” said May, via Birmingham Live.
“This is a great platform to go to that next level and I think I’ve still got plenty more years in the legs.
“I know I’m 31 but I feel 26, 27 because I came into football late and hopefully I can stay here and get to that next level with this club.
“The style of play that he plays, the high press, that’s my type of tactics.
“I love running and chasing defenders down.
“I like trying to make the defenders make mistakes and I try to punish them.
“I like being a little pest.
“It gets the crowd on the front foot as well. We know how important the crowd can be.
“I played in times when it was Covid and we had no fans and that was a year I didn’t do well in front of goal!
“I like running in behind, coming short, setting and spinning, and I’m a greedy striker.
“I like to shoot.”
May joined Charlton last summer in a move from Cheltenham Town, where he bagged 23 goals from 43 appearances in League One (all stats from Fbref).
But the Addicks could only secure 16th in the table, missing out on a play-off place by a 13-point margin.
This has led to May’s departure this summer, making the switch to promotion-hopefuls Birmingham.
The Blues hijacked Huddersfield Town’s initial bid to sign the player, agreeing a £775,000 fee with the London club to win the race to his signature.
May was excellent for Charlton last season, and proved he can be a top talent in League One even in an otherwise under-performing side.
He could be the ideal fit to power Birmingham back to the Championship at the first attempt.
His excitement for Davies’ style of play should be music to supporters’ ears, and helps build anticipation for the upcoming campaign.
May’s enthusiasm also indicates he should be a natural fit for Davies’ style of play, which should help bring the best out of him and see him score plenty of goals next season.
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