The 2 Birmingham City players we can see leaving in January | OneFootball

FLW looks at those who could depart St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park in the next transfer window

Birmingham City made several changes to their squad following relegation to League One for the first time since 1995.

The spotlight, as far as the third tier is concerned, has been well and truly thrust onto Blues due to a number of factors, none less than their reputation in the division, Knighthead's lofty ambitions for the club and their hefty summer investment.

That, of course, included the record-breaking permanent deal for Jay Stansfield from Fulham, with the 21-year-old one of 17 new additions in Chris Davies' first window as manager after being installed in the St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park dugout in June.

Furthermore, the likes of Juninho Bacuna, Jordan James and Koji Miyoshi were among 18 faces who departed the club between the conclusion of the 2023/24 relegation season and the closing of the summer transfer window on August 30th.

Of course, such strong squad depth has given Birmingham the best possible chance to build on their imperious start to the season, but also has lessened the chances of regular game-time for some among Davies' ranks.

With that in mind, Football League World looks at those who we believe could depart on a permanent or temporary basis in January.

Dion Sanderson

Dion Sanderson is one of a select group of players who featured for Birmingham during last season's disastrous relegation from the Championship.

But, despite the sense of continuity and familiarity that comes with having the 24-year-old on the books, it's hard to see the former Wolverhampton Wanderers man featuring under Davies on a regular basis anytime soon.

Sanderson was stripped of the captaincy in the latter stages of last season, and subsequently struggled with a foot injury in the opening two months of the League One campaign.

Regardless of his return to full fitness, it would take an extraordinary sequence of events to see the man who has made over 90 appearances for the club become a regular starter once again in the near future, with Krystian Bielik and Christoph Klarer forming an immense centre-back pairing, whilst Blues also have the services of former Liverpool and Rangers man, Ben Davies, to call upon.

The defender put pen to paper on a four-year deal after signing permanently in August 2023, meaning that if he was to depart, Blues could still recoup a respectable sum of cash for his services.

Alfie Chang

The last 13 months have been extremely unfortunate for 22-year-old central midfielder, Alfie Chang.

After making his major breakthrough in the 2022/23 season under John Eustace, which included 13 Championship appearances, Chang was sidelined last August with a significant knee injury, which he is still on the road to recovery from.

Whilst sidelined, the academy graduate was handed a contract extension until the summer of 2026, but since then, the landscape of Blues and their midfield options have changed drastically.

The likes of Paik Seung-Ho, Tomoki Iwata, Marc Leonard and Luke Harris have all come through the door in B9 since Chang's last appearance, but that hasn't stopped his new boss from singing his praises regarding his commitment to making a swift recovery.

"Every morning I come in he’s the first player in. He’s in the gym and has worked extremely hard in his rehab. He’s one of those players you just will and wish they get back to full fitness and start to flourish because he’s got a brilliant attitude," Davies stated.

Given this verdict, perhaps a loan switch in January with one-and-a-half years left on his deal would be the best move for all parties.

That's not disregarding Chang's potential, but the form the likes of Paik and Iwata are in right now makes it extremely hard for the midfielder to force his way into the starting XI anytime soon.