3 hours Ago By [email protected] (Alex Dicken)
Birmingham City’s early promotion has allowed Chris Davies and the club’s powerbrokers to accelerate their plans for next season. Blues signed 17 new players last summer, including several with the Championship in mind, so there doesn’t need to be an enormous turnaround this year. We already know that German defender Phil Neumann will join the club once his contract at Hannover 96 expires at the end of June.
More signings are needed to ensure Blues have the quality to compete in next season’s Championship and players will have to be offloaded. Before you start to wonder who in the club’s current squad will or won’t be needed next season, a line must be drawn in the sand when it comes to those currently out on loan. They are all out on loan for a reason: because Davies couldn’t find room in his plans for them this season and that isn’t likely to change.
In the case of Tyler Roberts, who has spent this season on loan at Northampton Town, Davies has already confirmed that he remains surplus to requirements. “You can never say never but the picture is probably not going to change too much – I don’t see any reason for it to,” Davies said last month. The same can be said for the club’s former captain Dion Sanderson.
Sanderson, a £2million signing from Wolves two years ago, has been on loan at Blackburn Rovers since January after falling out of favour under Davies. He has played 10 games in the Championship for Blackburn – four starts and six substitute appearances – and will no doubt want to ply his trade at that level next term. The man who signed him, John Eustace, is now at Derby County so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Sanderson was on the Rams’ list this summer.
Manny Longelo is another player Blues will look to offload this summer. The left-back has endured a poor loan spell at Cambridge United that will likely end in another relegation. Longelo has one year remaining on his contract and a season which has seen him start just three League One matches isn’t likely to have attracted many suitors.
Romelle Donovan appears to be taking his chance at Brentford and has become an important player in their B team. It would be a surprise if he found his way back to Blues. The landscape isn’t so clear for Alfie Chang and George Hall.
Chang has barely featured for League Two side Walsall and hasn’t started a first team match in 20 months since suffering a serious knee injury. Chang will turn 23 in September and it is hard to see a future for him at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park now. Hall, 20, has time on his side but hamstring injuries have blighted him again this season.
While his talent is unquestionable, Hall’s hamstrings have prevented him from taking off at Blues. Walsall have got 15 games out of Hall – and the Saddlers have generally looked better with him on the field – but that output isn’t likely to convince Davies to save a space in his squad for the homegrown midfielder. Should Blues keep any of the aforementioned players? Let us know HERE Get the latest Blues headlines sent straight to your phone BirminghamLive has its very own Birmingham City WhatsApp community to deliver the latest headlines straight to your phone.
Just click this link to receive daily Blues content and breaking news. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like.
Click on the name at the top of your screen while in WhatsApp and click 'Exit Group'. Read our Privacy Notice..
