Birmingham City: Chris Davies drops hint on January player exits | OneFootball

The Blues' boss is expecting some players to look at other opportunities in the new year.

Chris Davies has admitted that he expects some Birmingham City players to look at leaving the club in January.

Birmingham's huge summer overhaul was partially balanced by some fairly sizable sales too. Jordan James and Koji Miyoshi, among others, were the two big money departures from St Andrew's, and there's certainly scope for more to leave in the upcoming window too, whether it be permanently or on loan.

One of the casualties of the club's massive improvement on the pitch has been Dion Sanderson. The 24-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Blues after making just one league start so far this season. Birmingham would be willing to let him leave on loan, according to Alan Nixon.

He may not be the only City member who ends up with another club come the first week of February too.

Chris Davies expects January departures from Birmingham City

Blues' boss has admitted that he's preparing for some people in his team to look for moves away from Knighthead Park in the winter window. He believes it's normal for this sort of thing to happen in the game.

"I think that will naturally reshuffle as we approach January and that’s healthy and good for both parties," Davies said, via Birmingham Live. "There might be some that think there’s a different direction needed for them and we might agree and then something can be done.

"On the other hand, players who aren’t playing all the time have to try and work hard to earn their place in the team. I always say they pick the team really, through their performances. If they’re doing enough, they will be in the team. I can imagine in January there’ll be a little bit of movement in a good way."

While an exodus of some sort is anticipated, Davies would prefer it to not be a mass one, as he fears that losing too many players would leave him with too tight of a squad to work with.

He said: "In terms of the amount of games, I don’t think it’s possible to lose too many more because we would then be looking to youth team players with no senior experience. The squad so far has managed the season well and it will get tested even more but I certainly wouldn’t want to lose (numbers) from the playing squad."

Birmingham City will have expected January requests to leave

When you bring in as many high quality players as Birmingham did in the summer, it can take a bit for the team to shake itself out. Davies was never going to land on his best team at the exact moment the last transfer window closed. Now, though, we have a much better picture of who he prefers.

The club must have known that was going to happen, and that the consequences of it would be that some of the playing staff, like Anderson, would end up with fewer minutes than initially thought.

It's just part and parcel of enhancing your squad, those who were there already will fall a bit further back in the queue than they once were. That can cause a bit of unhappiness, and then the right thing for all parties to do is find a solution that resolves things; usually, a move away.