The Birmingham City players who may never put the shirt on again - £1.5m man features | OneFootball

We looked at some of the Birmingham City players who may already have played their final game for the club.

Birmingham City are preparing for life back in the Championship after winning promotion from League One.

After significantly investing in the squad during the summer, Birmingham stormed to the League One title last season as they accumulated an incredible total of 111 points, which set a new EFL record.

Blues owner Tom Wagner has revealed that the club are targeting back-to-back promotions next season, and it has been claimed that the Midlands outfit could be one of the biggest spenders outside the Premier League this summer, along with fellow newly-promoted side Wrexham.

Birmingham are yet to bring in any new signings this summer, but defenders Grant Hanley and Lee Myung-Jae have been released at the end of their contracts, while loanees Ben Davies, Luke Harris and Kieran Dowell have returned to their parent clubs.

They may not be the only departures from St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park this summer, and we looked at some of the other Blues players who could be heading out of the exit door.

Bailey Peacock-Farrell

Goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell joined Birmingham from Burnley last summer, but he has endured a frustrating spell at the club so far.

Peacock-Farrell began last season as the Blues' number one, starting each of the first seven league games, but after making a host of mistakes, he was dropped for Ryan Allsop in early October, and manager Chris Davies stuck with the ex-Hull City man for the remainder of the campaign.

With Birmingham reportedly closing in on a deal to sign Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper James Beadle on loan, Peacock-Farrell could potentially be pushed even further down the pecking order next season, and having recently lost his place as Northern Ireland's first-choice goalkeeper, he needs to be playing regular football in order to further his international ambitions.

The Blues signed Peacock-Farrell on a four-year contract, and he was estimated to be their highest-paid contracted player last season, as per Capology, so it may be tough for them to offload him this summer, but the 28-year-old's exit would be the right move for all parties, whether that be on loan or on a permanent basis.

Krystian Bielik

After two previous loan spells with the club, Bielik made a permanent move to Birmingham from Derby County in the summer of 2023 for a fee believed to be less than £1 million.

Bielik was one of the Blues' better performers during their disappointing relegation season in 2023-24 after being moved to the centre of defence by Tony Mowbray, so it was seen as a big coup for the club when they managed to tie him down to a new three-year contract last summer.

After committing his future to Birmingham, Bielik was then handed the captain's armband, but as Christoph Klarer and Ben Davies began to establish themselves as the first-choice centre-back pairing, his game time became increasingly limited, with the 27-year-old making just three league starts in the second half of the season.

Given his vast Championship experience, Bielik would be a useful player for the Blues to keep around as they return to the second tier, but according to Capology, he is estimated to be another of the club's biggest earners, so they may look to sell him if he is not going to be a starter next season.

Emmanuel Longelo

Defender Emmanuel Longelo initially arrived at Birmingham on loan from West Ham United in the summer of 2022 before the club made the deal permanent six months later for a fee of £400,000.

Longelo was a regular starter throughout John Eustace's tenure, but he fell out of favour following the arrival of Wayne Rooney in October 2023, and his last appearance for the Blues came all the way back in January 2024.

After being deemed surplus to requirements by Davies last summer, Longelo joined Cambridge United on a season-long loan, but his time at the Abbey Stadium was not a success, with the 24-year-old making just 19 appearances as the U's were relegated to League Two, and only six of those came from the start.

As Longelo prepares to return to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, his career does appear to be at something of a crossroads, and he will surely be keen to move on permanently this summer.

Emil Hansson

As part of their eye-catching summer of spending, Birmingham signed winger Emil Hansson from Dutch side Heracles last July for a fee of £1.5 million.

While bigger and more expensive deals were to come later in the window, the fact the Blues had managed to convince Hansson to swap the Eredivisie for League One was seen as a big statement of intent, and his record of five goals and six assists in just 25 games for Heracles in the 2023-24 season offered hope that he would be a success in the third tier.

However, it is fair to say it has not quite worked out for Hansson at Birmingham so far, with the 26-year-old scoring just two goals and registering two assists in 24 appearances last season, while he only made 14 starts in all competitions.

Given that Hansson's form was not helped by persistent injury problems, the Blues could give him another chance to prove himself next season in the Championship, but with the arrival of at least two or three wingers looking likely this summer, he may soon be searching for a new club.

Ayumu Yokoyama

Forward Ayumu Yokoyama made the move to Birmingham from Japanese side Sagan Tosu last summer, and he looked like an exciting addition for the club.

However, just weeks after Yokoyama's arrival, the Blues brought in Lyndon Dykes from Queens Park Rangers for £1 million before smashing their transfer record to sign Jay Stansfield from Fulham for more than £15 million, and with Alfie May also at the club, the 22-year-old found his game time limited.

Yokoyama did show glimpses of his potential in the first half of the season, scoring four goals and providing two assists in 19 appearances, but all of those strikes came in cup competitions, and having failed to make a single league start, he joined Genk's reserve team on loan in February.

The forward scored just one goal in nine games during his time in Belgium, giving Birmingham a big decision to make on his future this summer, and if he did not feature much in League One, he seems highly unlikely to be a regular in the Championship next season.