“On the right wages...” - Birmingham City reveal talks over new contract | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Birmingham City have offered Lukas Jutkiewicz a new contract as they prepare for life in League One.

With Tom Wagner completing his takeover of the club last year, Blues went into this season full of optimism.

However, it turned out to be a disaster on the pitch, as the bold decision to replace John Eustace with Wayne Rooney backfired, and the side ultimately finished in the bottom three despite a final day victory over Norwich City.

Whilst those making the decisions at St. Andrew’s deserve criticism for how they handled the managerial appointments. There’s no doubt they have grand ambitions for the club.

So, fans are still excited about what the future holds, but the immediate priority is appointing a new head coach after Tony Mowbray's departure, and then building a squad that can bounce back to the Championship at the first attempt.

Lukas Jutkiewicz has a lot to offer Birmingham City

And, work has begun on the latter, as Blues announced their retained and released list this week, with several experienced players moving on.

But, one player who isn’t departing, who many perhaps thought would, was Jutkiewicz.

The 35-year-old is a firm favourite among the Blues support given all he has contributed since he joined on an initial loan in 2016.

In total, he has made over 300 appearances in the royal blue shirt, scoring some vital goals.

This season was tough for Jutkiewicz, as his campaign was disrupted by injury issues, which restricted him to just 28 games, and he scored three goals.

So, some thought relegation would mean Jutkiewicz would go, as Blues freshen up the squad, but they have stated their intention to keep the target man, with talks ongoing.

Speaking to FLW, Blues fan Mike explained that even if Jutkiewicz isn’t the player he once was on the pitch, he believes he will help the dressing room, although he did understand why some may be against keeping him on.

He said: “I’ve got mixed emotions on the new contract for Juke.

“Obviously, he’s a club legend, he’s great around the dressing room, and the fans love him. So, in that respect, I completely get it.

“But, for me, I’m just not sure what he’s going to be able to deliver on the pitch. He’s 35 now, and he goes against the type of football the owners have said they want to play. He’s better when we play direct.

“That being said, if he’s on the right wages, I can certainly see him having an impact and remaining a really strong presence in the dressing room, as I mentioned.

“I’m a little bit torn on it but if it works financially, then let’s have another year, why not?”

Birmingham City’s summer plans

There’s a lot of pressure on Blues to win promotion next season, as they’re a big club for the third tier, and with the owners’ ambitions, they’re going to be a big scalp for their rivals.

Fans will welcome the start of the clear-out with the released list and they will want to move more players on when the window opens.

Then, it would be a proper fresh start for Birmingham, with a new head coach, and several new faces to make up the squad.

But, Jutkiewicz may still have a lot to offer, and it does make sense for a variety of reasons that they want to keep him around for one more year, and he will be desperate to be part of a promotion-winning season.