Birmingham City – A Window of Intent – ​​Final Whistle

Last summer, Birmingham asked a new group to take ownership of the club. There was a mix of thoughts and feelings that year, which ultimately saw the Blues relegated to the third tier, for the first time in 29 years.

The board made some questionable decisions, including when John Eustace was relieved of his duties in favor of Wayne Rooney, who was sacked after 15 games.

Heading into the new season, Tom Wagner and his team knew they needed an action plan to get the club back to the Championship, whilst building a bright future beyond next season. This is what they attempted to achieve by appointing Chris Davis as manager, having left Spurs as assistant boss.

Davis has benefited from the board’s support, as the club spent more than £12 million, 12 times more than Charlton Athletic, who spent the second highest amount on transfers in League One this summer. Here’s a look at who they’ve invested their money on and how they can push Birmingham back into the Championship.

Important offers

Davis was able to add two players worth over £3million to his squad. Christoph Klarer joined the club from Darmstadt 98, after the club was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.

The central defender has played for the Austrian national team at all youth levels, while clocking up over 5,000 minutes in the 2. Bundesliga and just over 2,000 minuets in the Bundesliga. It’s clear that the defender has experience at a high level at just 24 years old, and adding that to this team is a huge advantage if they are battling at the top of the table.

Given his style of play, he is someone who regularly has the ball at his feet, but who doesn’t try anything exaggerated with it. He is a player who sets the tempo with short and simple passes, while maintaining possession. He constantly engages in duels and participates in defensive actions. Last season he had a success rate of 78.9% in his duels in a mediocre Darmstadt team, compared to Birmingham, who enter the season as favorites for the title. There’s a lot to like about the defender, and he’ll definitely tighten things up on defense.

The other multi-million pound transfer was that of Icelandic midfielder Willum Thor Willumson. The 25-year-old played around 3,000 minutes last season in the Eredivisie at the Go Ahead Eagles, where he played mainly as an attacking midfielder, or slightly further down as a central midfielder.

One notable thing about Willumson is that he didn’t really complete a large number of progressive passes last season, but he was high on key passes compared to the rest of Europe’s elite midfielders, demonstrating the quality of his passing in the final third and providing passes in wide areas for the attacking width offered by Go Ahead Eagles.

Willumson is also a player who picks up the ball and heads to the dangerous areas of the field where he can make the key difference, he has demonstrated this by being in the 60th percentile in progressive runs. Overall, when looking at these two players, they add great quality to the team to propel them to the top of the table.

Lively left wing

Birmingham City also introduced two new players to add more attacking variety on the left side of the pitch.

The Blues were able to recruit 26-year-old Swedish winger Emil Hansson. Hansson has been playing in the Netherlands for several years now and has even won four trophies. When it comes to his style, the winger is not someone who has scored a lot of goals but rather a creative figure, as shown by the Heracles Almelo team.

In the 2023/24 season he averaged 0.2xg per 90, averaging around five progressive passes per 90. Ultimately, he is a direct winger and someone who, like Willumson, carries the ball forward. Birmingham already had Siriki Dembele on the left wing, but adding more quality to that area of ​​the pitch is a positive depending on the opposition.

Just behind at left-back, Alex Cochrane has been added to the squad. The full-back spent three seasons at Hearts which were successful for him, having played 126 times for the Scottish club.

He is someone who offers a high offensive threat with threatening overlaps. He also offers a range of passing and isn’t afraid to pick out someone no matter where they are on the pitch, or simply provide his teammates with crosses into the box, as he came in 6th with the more Scottish League centers last season.

Adding two athletic, quick creators to the team shows Davis’ desire to attack his opponent. Dominating possession and chances is something Birmingham are desperate to do, but after Scott Hogan was released from the club earlier this summer, the club needed a reliable striker who would end the chances of these creative outlets.

May magnificent

Replacing Hogan with Alfie May was arguably just as big as any of the club’s other signings, despite being cheaper than the four names previously mentioned.

The striker has scored over 20 league goals in his last three seasons, including last season when he left Cheltenham Town for Charlton Athletic. That hasn’t dampened his appetite for finding the back of the net, as he has scored 27 times in 50 outings in all competitions, plus an assist to go with his feat.

Over time, you can see a massive increase in his conversation rate due to the number of extra shots he lands. The 31-year-old is improving his game with more experience in front of goal, and it doesn’t look like that will slow down in the West Midlands.

With his league experience and personal success, having been on the 2023/24 League One Player of the Year shortlist, he can certainly help Birmingham move up the pyramid, and with the addition of creative talent , he may be looking to score more than last season.