Football League World
·25 August 2023
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·25 August 2023
Birmingham City have had a busy summer of transfer activity.
The Blues have added a number of fresh faces to their squad following the completion of the takeover of the club by Tom Wagner.
John Eustace will be aiming to improve the team’s standing in the Championship over the next year after a successful first 12 months in charge at St. Andrew’s.
He led the team to a 17th place finish, despite many tipping the club for a relegation battle before the term began.
Expectations will be higher following that impressive debut season in charge of the team, with optimism growing that the Blues are on an upwards trajectory.
But there are still a few days remaining in the market which could allow for further reinforcements to be made to the first team squad.
Birmingham will be keen to make as strong a side as possible in order to compete in the top half of the Championship table this season.
Here we look at what a dream ending to the summer window might look like for the Blues…
The arrival of Jay Stansfield on loan from Fulham has seen the team add some firepower to the squad before the window closes.
The 20-year-old impressed during a loan spell in League One last year and will now be hoping to have a similar impact in the Championship.
His signing for the club has seen Eustace turn his attention to adding some reinforcement to his backline.
According to Birmingham Live, the manager would like to add another centre back to their ranks and a right back signing is being considered as well.
The 43-year-old has opened up on what his hopes are for the final few days of the transfer market, indicating that the club will not force through any moves if the right deal cannot be found.
“I think you can see we’re very light at the back,” said Eustace, via Birmingham Live.
“We certainly need to bring in the right characters and the right players, but if we can’t we will get on with it as a group and make the best of what we’ve got.”
Perhaps Sunderland's Danny Batth could be a smart solution, with Eustace looking to add some competition to their current options, with the defender's proposed move to Blackburn Rovers collapsing.
A dream scenario would be for Birmingham to sign an exciting, up-and-coming defender such as Bashir Humphreys.
Injuries to Siriki Dembele and Ethan Laird have only compounded the loss of Alfie Chang.
The young midfielder was set for a big season in his career, but now could be out for a lengthy absence following a significant knee injury.
Birmingham may want to use the final week of the window to nail down any holes that have been left in their squad by these injuries.
It appears a new right back is being considered amid Laird’s current hamstring issues, and a new forward may be needed to add some extra strength in depth to Eustace’s options if Dembele is set for a spell on the sidelines.
The loan market could be key for Birmingham in that respect, as temporary solutions might be required to resolve these short-term issues.