Even though several Italian and German clubs expressed interest in signing German center back Phil Neumann during the summer transfer window, Birmingham City were lauded for keeping Neumann on board during the winter transfer window.

You could argue that Chris Davies’s options are far stronger now than they were when the window began on New Year’s Day, and the Blues were able to reconfigure their squad during a window that is notoriously difficult for any team to do business in.

Even if some outsiders thought the ambitious club could go all the way and earn back-to-back promotions before the Championship campaign even started, they have had their sights set on a play-off bid the entire season.

Although they returned to the second division with promise, Birmingham’s play was erratic throughout.

It is well-known, nonetheless, that they and Wrexham were both promoted automatically from League One. Tom Wagner, majority owner of the Blues, has repeatedly stated his ambition to see the return of Premier League football to this area of the Second City as soon as possible, and the club is in no rush to settle for rapid consolidation.

After a major roster shakeup that included six additions—Kai Wagner, Jhon Solis, Ibrahim Osman, August Priske, Carlos Vicente, and Jonathan Panzo—and over ten sanctioned departures—mostly for players on the periphery of the starting lineup at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park—Davies has overseen a recent surge in performances and results.

Deadline Day also saw the completion of the second deal; after early terminating Eiran Cashin’s loan arrangement with Brighton and Hove Albion, the Blues boss made it clear that he wanted to bolster his center-back department.

Jason Moore, a Birmingham City fan and pundit for Football League World, stated that while Panzo provides Davies with a fourth senior option when he, Neumann, Christoph Klarer, and Jack Robinson are all healthy and available to play, it was equally crucial for the club to retain the services of the German center-back.

Despite rumours of a move, Phil Neumann will remain at St. Andrew’s, providing a “massive boost” to Birmingham City.

After much speculation during both transfer windows of the 2024–25 League One season, Blues ultimately negotiated a pre-contract deal with the 28-year-old’s previous employers, Hannover 96, to acquire the player Neumann.

The center back’s loan to the club was officially extended on July 1st. He was immediately a part of Davies’ preseason plans and started the season as a first-string center back alongside Klarer in the August 8th match against Ipswich Town.

However, after only one month on the job, Birmingham benched Neumann in favor of Robinson and Cashin for a little over a month. On October 21st, he scored his first goal for Birmingham in English football, commemorating his return to the club.

The player, who joined the club on a free transfer, has made 26 appearances across all competitions and scored twice since joining, the most recent being a match against Southampton on December 29.

Nevertheless, it was said that Sassuolo was interested in the towering figure during the first two weeks of the transfer market. Hellas Verona and VfL Wolfsburg subsequently backed up and contributed to that desire.

Moore is relieved that Birmingham were successful in retaining Neumann, if only temporarily, despite these rumors.”It’s a huge boost,” he informed FLW.I mean, he hasn’t exactly been outstanding this whole season, either. However, he has entered a whole different league and has had to adapt.According to Moore, there have been instances when he was unfairly blamed for the team’s bad performance.

As a result, he has been used as a pretext for blame. Still, the club made a smart choice once again. Why would you risk losing out on his 6.5/7 rating in the majority of games by selling him?Good choice. Feel free to trade him in the summer if that’s what they want, but I wouldn’t.It was the right call, since if he left, we would be severely understaffed.

By keeping Phil Neumann on staff, Birmingham City have made the right decision.

In the last days of the transfer window, if Birmingham had been allowed to sell Neumann, as Moore hinted, they would have been severely short-handed and would have had to find a second center back in a hurry.

Despite Neumann’s lack of remarkable play thus far, Blues still have a shot at turning a profit from him in the future.