John Eustace makes honest Birmingham City transfer admission | OneFootball

Birmingham City boss John Eustace has confirmed that Ryan Woods is leaving the club in order to ‘balance the books’.

The midfielder is set to join Hull City before the weekend, with the move in the pipeline for the past week or so, which is why he hasn’t featured in the last two league games.

However, speaking to Birmingham Live, Eustace was honest about the situation, as he admitted he didn’t want to lose the player, with the financial situation meaning he had to go – as he also refused to rule out further departures.

“Ryan is an exceptional Championship player with great pedigree, lots of experience. Of course we don’t want to lose players but we have to balance the books as well. Ryan has gone, it gives somebody else an opportunity to step up to the mark, which up to now we have done with JJ [Jordan James] and Changy [Alfie Chang].

“I don’t want to lose any of our players but if they have to go, they have to go – no problems. What can I do about it? There is nothing I can do. It’s the way we are.”

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The verdict

This is a slightly worrying update for Birmingham fans as Eustace clearly valued Woods and the fact he is going does leave them short on senior options in midfield.

It’s hard to speculate on Blues’ financial situation due to the potential takeover, so we don’t know who is making the decisions.

You have to appreciate Eustace’s honesty here but fans will hope that he doesn’t lose any more players as the squad isn’t the biggest right now.