After an awful Championship season this year, Birmingham City will have a tough summer ahead of them.
This season, the Blues had four different managers take charge of the team as they fell from sixth place to the relegation zone and ultimately were demoted to League One.
In light of Tony Mowbray’s health concerns, Birmingham will need to undergo a significant rebuild in the summer. They have to handle their transfers well, or else a protracted stay in the third division might be fatal.
To have an incredible start to the summer, the Blues should concentrate on adding one vital player and cutting one overpaid, underutilized guy.
In: Alfie May
Birmingham must prioritize signing a striker in the summer to propel them back into the second division, especially considering the Blues’ impending departure of several elite attackers.
After scoring 13 goals for the Blues, Jay Stansfield will return to his parent club, Fulham, at the end of the season. Additionally, Scott Hogan’s contract expires in the summer, thus the club will have virtually little upfront.
It will be crucial for the Blues to sign a player who has a track record of scoring goals in League One if they want to return to the Championship. Alfie May of Charlton Athletic, who had a terrific season at the Valley this past season, would be a perfect addition.
With 23 goals for Charlton previous season, the 30-year-old striker led the League One scoring lists. This is true even though the Addicks were 16th overall, nine points out of relegation. Although Charlton’s situation is improving, Birmingham now seem like a better bet to challenge for a top-two spot next season.
Even though May is beyond 30, he would still be a fantastic addition. In order to escape the division, Birmingham would want to spend big money, and May would provide a crucial short-term boost. Birmingham’s finances would suffer greatly from a protracted stay in League One, therefore they will be hoping that May can lead them back to the Championship as soon as possible.
It’s an ideal window scenario, but he’s an ambitious aim.
Out: Tyler Roberts
The Blues need a striker who can score goals, and Tyler Roberts hasn’t given the team that since signing with the team. Roberts left Leeds to sign with Birmingham last summer, giving the Blues access to a player with a wealth of Premier League and international experience.
But the Welshman had a terrible season, struggling with his results as well as his fitness. Roberts played just one game before Christmas as the Blues were relegated to League One and missed the first half of the season due to injury.
Roberts played in a number of front three positions, but he was unable to add goals or assists when he did return at the start of the new year. In just eight starts out of 17 games, Roberts did not score and only provided one assist.
Roberts, according to Capology, is making £10k a week and has three years remaining on his contract. When he signed, the team was ‘fighting’ for promotion, so it’s doubtful that they included a relegation clause when he joined the Blues in the summer.
It would be preferable to move on for Wales as soon as possible, considering the salary he receives in comparison to his value to the squad. Birmingham hopes to return to the Championship at the first attempt, so they can utilize the money they receive for him along with his salaries to buy a more dependable player who can provide goals and assists.
