3 Lyndon Dykes upgrades Birmingham City must look at - 6ft 6in Czech international features | OneFootball

3 Lyndon Dykes upgrades Birmingham City must look at this summer.

Despite an incredible 2024-25 League One season, Birmingham City will be disappointed with the lack of contribution from summer signing Lyndon Dykes this term.

Scotland international Dykes arrived from Queens Park Rangers in the summer, for a reported fee of £1m. Although Dykes did score the winning goal to take the Blues to Wembley in February, he's only hit the net once in league action, and has been guilty of a couple of rather unexpected misses.

Birmingham are confirmed to be a Championship side next season, after a wonderful campaign under new boss Chris Davies. However, they will want to be looking at potential upgrades for their target forward after his goalscoring struggles in League One.

We took a look at three potential target forwards that the Blues could look to bring to the club in the summer, as an upgrade for the struggling Dykes.

Daryl Dike - West Brom

This one might be a bit of a curveball, and potentially not popular with either set of supporters. However, it could be a smart move by Birmingham if they try to poach American international striker Daryl Dike from local rivals West Brom.

The 24-year-old has just returned to action after a year on the sidelines through injury.

His time at The Hawthorns hasn't gone as planned, as repeated injury setbacks have seen his game time restricted. With that in mind, and an estimated wage of over £32,000 a week, as per Capology, the Baggies might be willing to listen to offers for the American.

Dike proved to be an excellent Championship level forward during his loan spell at Barnsley, and now he's returned to fitness, he'll be looking to replicate some of that form he showed with the Tykes four years ago.

The Blues could try and prize Dike away from their local rivals on a cut-price deal, if West Brom are willing to sell. This could prove to be a bargain for Birmingham if he stays fit and rekindles his previous form shown at Barnsley, although Albion did purchase him over three years ago for £7 million, so he may not be cheap.

With the American connection to the ownership group as well though, Knighthead could see Dike as a marketable figure with his 10 USA caps so far to his name, so it may make more sense than many other potential targets.

Franculino Dju - FC Midtjylland

It's hard to quantify how much Birmingham will spend in the upcoming transfer window, but if it's anything like last summer, it could be a very busy few months for Blues.

If they do decide to splash the cash, an option they should look at is Franculino Dju of FC Midtjylland. The Guinea-Bissau international is an exciting up-and-coming forward, who will likely be on the radar of plenty of clubs this summer.

The 20-year-old is quick, powerful, and has experience in European competitions. However, the former Benfica striker won't come cheap and Birmingham could be looking at over £10m to secure his signature, if estimates are to be believed.

A scorer of 12 goals in all competitions this season for the Danish outfit, expect Franculino to be on the radar of many clubs, but given they splashed out on Jay Stansfield last year, Birmingham could potentially afford someone like this to play off the ex-Fulham man.

Tomas Chory - Slavia Prague

Standing at a towering 6ft 6in, Tomas Chory is an absolute powerhouse in the air and one of the most physically capable attackers in world football. The Czech Republic international has over 100 career goals, so he knows where the back of the net is, and his height would be a real problem for the opposition in England.

Bringing Chory to the Championship would give defenders a whole new threat that they've never seen before.

His pedigree and ability in the air make him a feared opponent for any defender he faces. With 17 goals in all competitions to his name this season, the striker's eye for goal is also incredibly impressive.

At 30 years of age though, Chory is quickly approaching the twilight of his career and may fancy testing himself abroad.

With an estimated market value of between €1.9M and €2.9M, he would offer a great cheaper option for Birmingham to upgrade on Dykes - if he were to be keen on the move.