Birmingham City enjoyed arguably the best summer window in the division. They introduced quality players all over the pitch.
A new-look defense was brought into St Andrews, as Ethan Laird, Dion Sanderson, and Lee Buchanan all penned permanent deals. Furthermore, Krystian Bielik strengthened the midfield options, whilst a host of attacking talent was acquired, including: Jay Stansfield, Tyler Roberts, Koji Miyoshi, Keshi Anderson and Sikiri Dembélé.
Despite adding 11 new faces, only seven senior players departed the Midlands club. This has left some assets that will struggle for minutes this term, who most likely should have followed the others out whilst they had the chance.
Gary Gardner
Gary Gardner is one of two players to feature whose contract expires next summer. This means that Birmingham should have probably cashed in, unless they plan to play him.
For Gardner, staying appears to be a poor decision, as his minutes so far this term have been sparse. This was to be expected, as the 31-year-old only appeared in John Eustace’s Championship starting XI on only three occasions last term.
The midfielder’s first professional club was Aston Villa. He controversially made the inter-city switch to the Blues after agreeing a loan move in 2018. Gardner impressed, and only missed four league outings, earning himself a permanent deal.
124 appearances later, and the Englishman has become a popular figure, but it is maybe time to move on.
Marc Roberts
Marc Roberts joined Birmingham from Barnsley in the summer of 2017, and has played just shy of 200 games. The 33-year-old is another who will struggle for time on the pitch this season, and should have possibly sought pastures new over the summer.
The central defender played more times than his midfield counterpart in the previous campaign, featuring in 24 bouts, however this number has slowly started to dwindle.
His only appearance so far this season was a 23-minute cameo in the Blues’ Carabao Cup defeat against Cardiff City.
Roberts has been fantastic servant during his six-year stint in Birmingham, but consistent minutes are what most footballers crave, and the only way to facilitate that would be by moving elsewhere.
Alfie Chang
It was a shock to see Alfie Chang stay at St Andrews over summer, and not complete a loan move to a side further down the pyramid.
The 21-year-old midfielder came through the Birmingham youth setup, and eventually made his debut for the first team in a two-nil defeat to Fulham in the Carabao Cup in 2021.
To date, he has managed 20 matches for Eustace’s men, but has failed to play consistently. So far this term, he has not been used, and has sat on the bench for three league outings.
This was until Chang sustained a serious knee injury, that will see him sidelined for a lengthy period. The future still remains bright for the youngster, but a loan move should probably be considered upon his return to the squad.