SHA
Small Heath Alliance
07:00, Wed 2 Sep
Birmingham City made seven summer signings - here is the story of their transfer window
[www.birminghammail.co.uk]
[www.birminghammail.co.uk]
Inside the Birmingham City transfer window that leaves Chris Davies under pressure
Birmingham Mail 07:00, Wed 2 Sep
Wardy
0
Replying to Birmingham Mail
08:09, Wed 2 Sep
CD needs to start getting the best out of what he already has. Sure,he will have wanted more but we can't keep throwing money at it. Financial restrictions are a thing.
PJ1966
1
Replying to Birmingham Mail
08:58, Wed 2 Sep
Inside the Birmingham City transfer window that leaves Chris Davies under pressure
Birmingham City made seven summer signings - here is the story of their transfer window
Liam Millar was the final splash of a quieter summer window than Birmingham City have been used to in recent years.
Blues fans have grown used to double figures when it comes to summer signings but they had to make do with seven this time around.
The loan arrival of 26-year-old Canada international Millar on deadline day rounded off Blues’ business.
A deal for Union Saint-Gilloise forward Mohammed Fuseini was also in the works but Blues pulled the plug late on. He ended up hot-footing it down the A38 to sign for Derby County.
Blues didn’t sign the number 10 many thought and hoped they would, which now raises a further question about the future of Marvin Ducksch.
Chris Davies wants two-time Germany international Ducksch to stick around, but the man himself has already talked about leaving and transfer windows remain open around the world.
Ducksch will be asked to compete with Jay Stansfield for the number 10 position.
Blues’ priority on deadline day was to replace Ibrahim Osman and Millar is their man. Millar, who scored Hull’s winner against Coventry in the Premier League on Saturday, became available late in the window as a result of the Tigers’ spending spree.
Blues viewed Millar as the best bet on the market after being informed that Osman was a no-go by Brighton & Hove Albion.
Osman was the club’s top target at the beginning of the transfer window after his successful loan last season.
Brighton slapped a price tag of around £18million on Osman that Blues weren’t willing to pay early in the window. They hoped Brighton’s stance would soften as the summer progressed but Osman has made an impression on Fabian Hurzeler. It became apparent a few weeks ago that any return for Osman was off the table.
Only time will tell whether Blues are good enough to reach the play-offs – which is unequivocally the target of owners Knighthead – without their enigmatic talisman of last season.
They wanted continuity and Championship experience at the start of the window and the powers that be believe Davies has both of those ingredients.
Championship experience was acquired in the form of Dael Fry, Max Bird and Millar – a trio with almost 500 second tier appearances combined – and those who didn’t excel last season, namely Phil Neumann and Bright Osayi-Samuel, are viewed as key players now.
It is hoped that January signings Carlos Vicente and August Priske will prove their worth too, albeit the club's most effective winter addition, Kai Wagner, was the biggest casualty of this window.
Blues have spent around £30m in the last two transfer windows and the expectation is that they will challenge for a play-off position this season.
The question is whether Davies has the tools to improve on last season’s 10th-placed finish because, on paper, the starting XI hasn’t moved on much.
Davies stopped short of confirming whether or not he believes Blues are stronger than last season, instead focusing on their change in profile.
“We look a different squad now,” he said. “Away from the individuals, the profile of the team that I was adamant around from January onwards was height, power, strength, speed, physicality – with quality of course.
You can go back and look where we were in December and the type of profile of squad we had and now look at it, we look a bit of a different animal for me.
“We’ve got a continuity there as well, that’s the other side I’m noticing. I’m noticing their connections, they know each other better and that’s helping us on the pitch.
“We’re looking forward now to attacking this league. It’s been a tough start with the fixtures we’ve had but I’m really pleased with how we’ve gone about it.”
Rightly or wrongly, the pressure is now on Davies to deliver, irrespective of whether Blues are better equipped or not.
Birmingham City made seven summer signings - here is the story of their transfer window
Liam Millar was the final splash of a quieter summer window than Birmingham City have been used to in recent years.
Blues fans have grown used to double figures when it comes to summer signings but they had to make do with seven this time around.
The loan arrival of 26-year-old Canada international Millar on deadline day rounded off Blues’ business.
A deal for Union Saint-Gilloise forward Mohammed Fuseini was also in the works but Blues pulled the plug late on. He ended up hot-footing it down the A38 to sign for Derby County.
Blues didn’t sign the number 10 many thought and hoped they would, which now raises a further question about the future of Marvin Ducksch.
Chris Davies wants two-time Germany international Ducksch to stick around, but the man himself has already talked about leaving and transfer windows remain open around the world.
Ducksch will be asked to compete with Jay Stansfield for the number 10 position.
Blues’ priority on deadline day was to replace Ibrahim Osman and Millar is their man. Millar, who scored Hull’s winner against Coventry in the Premier League on Saturday, became available late in the window as a result of the Tigers’ spending spree.
Blues viewed Millar as the best bet on the market after being informed that Osman was a no-go by Brighton & Hove Albion.
Osman was the club’s top target at the beginning of the transfer window after his successful loan last season.
Brighton slapped a price tag of around £18million on Osman that Blues weren’t willing to pay early in the window. They hoped Brighton’s stance would soften as the summer progressed but Osman has made an impression on Fabian Hurzeler. It became apparent a few weeks ago that any return for Osman was off the table.
Only time will tell whether Blues are good enough to reach the play-offs – which is unequivocally the target of owners Knighthead – without their enigmatic talisman of last season.
They wanted continuity and Championship experience at the start of the window and the powers that be believe Davies has both of those ingredients.
Championship experience was acquired in the form of Dael Fry, Max Bird and Millar – a trio with almost 500 second tier appearances combined – and those who didn’t excel last season, namely Phil Neumann and Bright Osayi-Samuel, are viewed as key players now.
It is hoped that January signings Carlos Vicente and August Priske will prove their worth too, albeit the club's most effective winter addition, Kai Wagner, was the biggest casualty of this window.
Blues have spent around £30m in the last two transfer windows and the expectation is that they will challenge for a play-off position this season.
The question is whether Davies has the tools to improve on last season’s 10th-placed finish because, on paper, the starting XI hasn’t moved on much.
Davies stopped short of confirming whether or not he believes Blues are stronger than last season, instead focusing on their change in profile.
“We look a different squad now,” he said. “Away from the individuals, the profile of the team that I was adamant around from January onwards was height, power, strength, speed, physicality – with quality of course.
You can go back and look where we were in December and the type of profile of squad we had and now look at it, we look a bit of a different animal for me.
“We’ve got a continuity there as well, that’s the other side I’m noticing. I’m noticing their connections, they know each other better and that’s helping us on the pitch.
“We’re looking forward now to attacking this league. It’s been a tough start with the fixtures we’ve had but I’m really pleased with how we’ve gone about it.”
Rightly or wrongly, the pressure is now on Davies to deliver, irrespective of whether Blues are better equipped or not.