Forget Jay Stansfield, Birmingham City pulled a blinder by fending off Sunderland and co: View | OneFootball

Retaining Paik Seung-Ho was imperative in Birmingham City's quest for League One glory

Throughout the transfer window, there is an inescapable wave of hype and excitement which builds around fanbases when it comes to an influx of investment in the market.

Birmingham City were undoubtedly the talk of the summer in League One in that regard, with Blues' high-spending spree also catching the eye of a multitude of pundits, as well as outsiders on social media.

Of course, most of such discourse was created by the Deadline Day acquisition of Jay Stansfield, which saw the club break their own transfer record, as well as the third tier record by some distance, having already done so twice before in the window with the signings of Christoph Klarer and Willum Willumsson.

The microscope, if it wasn't already, is now well and truly cast on developments at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park following Tom Wagner's backing, which has led the other 23 League One sides to watch on with envy.

And whilst numerous signings have already sent out a statement of Blues' intentions to regain their Championship status immediately, so has the retention of a key asset in the middle of the park.

Birmingham City signal intent through Paik Seung-Ho retention

Normally, it would seem slightly outlandish to say that the retention of a player signed just eight months ago, who was part of the relegation squad under Tony Mowbray, Mark Venus and latterly interim boss Gary Rowett, would signal a statement of intent.

However, the Championship interest in South Korean midfielder Paik Seung-Ho proves that the deep-lying midfielder's current standing in terms of ability is seen as streets ahead of the division he currently plies his trade in.

Shortly before the 1-0 final day victory over Norwich City - in which Paik netted the only goal - consigned Birmingham to a first season at this level since 1995, it was revealed that Sunderland were ready to plot a move for the former J.League star after being beaten by Blues to his signature just months before, but despite their keenness, a deal for the midfielder to move to the current Championship leaders never materialised.

'Calmness personified' would be one of the best ways to describe the South Korean in the heart of Chris Davies' new-look side, and after losing the services of Glen Kamara and Archie Gray in the summer, it was stated that Leeds United - who went on to pursue a deal for Japanese midfielder Ao Tanaka - had taken an interest in signing Paik as well as their Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United, where the thought of him alongside Ollie Arblaster at the heart of Chris Wilder's next generation of Bladesmen would have been an exciting proposition.

Those revelations from Mike McGrath also claimed that Paik had been the subject of Deadline Day bids from sides in the second tier, which could have been any of the three aforementioned sides in truth, but to the benefit of their promotion bid, retaining his services was unquestionably a key piece of business for Davies as Blues look to click further into gear.

Paik Seung-Ho's attributes make him an invaluable asset for Chris Davies

You can definitely describe Paik's start to life in League One in the same vein as Blues' season as a whole, as extremely steady with 10 points from 12, but there are still many gears to go through, which should come in time after a 13-day break between an EFL Trophy encounter with Walsall and a mouth-watering clash with Wrexham in B9.

Whilst Davies has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to selecting his double-pivot, Paik's attributes should make him an invaluable asset across the long slog of a 46-game season, having the technical ability to progress play up the pitch, drive into forward areas on occasions, as well as dictating the play from a deeper role, doing so alongside Marc Leonard and Taylor Gardner-Hickman so far.

The midfielder's numbers from the opening quartet of fixtures give plenty of room for improvement, which is an exciting prospect for Bluenoses moving forward, having created one big chance, accumulated a pass success rate of 91%, as well as averaging 1.5 tackles and 4.5 ball recoveries per 90.

However, a tally of 79.5 touches per game in the opening outings against Reading, Wycombe, Leyton Orient and Wigan prove that the 17-time international who netted against Brazil in the FIFA 2022 World Cup is the beating heart of Davies' front-footed ideology in the blue half of the Second City, and with 42 games left to really make his mark, retaining his signature could prove to be an instrumental aspect in Birmingham's promotion aims.