With Birmingham City’s Championship season appearing to have drifted into the abyss, it would not be surprising to see additional changes made this summer regarding the outlook of the playing squad at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park.
Chris Davies has received strong support during both transfer windows this season, but Knighthead’s investment is insufficient for a play-off challenge at the first attempt.
While some new arrivals have impressed, others have flattered to deceive, with Kyogo Furuhashi, who signed from Stade Rennais for up to £10 million, serving as a classic example.
The Japanese international, who was previously with Celtic, hasn’t reached the heights many expected, and after reports of a return to Parkhead or a potential switch to Swansea City in January, the 23-time Japan international appears increasingly likely to leave his current club after just one season, despite the fact that he is now sidelined for the remainder of it.
While the aforementioned Davies faces questions about whether he will still be the man in the dugout next season following a recent poor run of form, Kyogo is not likely to be alone among Blues players who could leave in the upcoming transfer window, and FLW has looked at five names who may fall into that category.
5 Phil Neumann
The first of the impending quintet is another of Davies’ new signings for the current season, German centre-back Phil Neumann.
In fairness to the former Hannover 96 player, Blues’ defence has been solid when he has played alongside captain Christoph Klarer, but he has since been replaced by Jack Robinson.
It is also unclear whether the team would be able to quickly profit from his talents, as it was revealed in January that Serie A club Sassuolo was interested in signing the 28-year-old.
Given the Blues’ inability to achieve back-to-back promotions, Neumann may also enjoy going to a top-flight side at this stage of his career.
4 Lee Buchanan
Lee Buchanan, another defender who could be on the move, last played competitively for the West Midlands club in December 2024, when he sustained a catastrophic ACL injury.
It’s been a long road back to full fitness for the 25-year-old, who signed a five-year contract with the club in July 2023, with two years remaining on his term this summer.
However, with January signing Kai Wagner impressing since his move from Philadelphia Union and the addition of Alex Cochrane, it appears logical that Blues could move the ex-Werder Bremen man in the upcoming window, with Davies recently revealing how cautious he has had to be about Buchanan’s fitness levels.
3Kanya Fujimoto
The aforementioned Kyogo was not the only highly-rated Japanese player to join St. Andrew’s last summer, however Blues supporters have only seen glimpses of attacking midfielder Kanya Fujimoto’s potential.
Despite his arrival, which coincided with a return to fitness following an injury sustained in the last weeks of his stint with Gil Vicente, the 26-year-old has made less than ten appearances in all competitions.
Since the turn of the year 2026, he has only appeared as a replacement, while earning a relatively sizable weekly salary of £17,500.
As a result, it seems logical for all parties to reach an agreement that benefits Fujimoto.
2Scott Wright
Scott Wright has also had a hard personal stint at B9 since joining from Rangers in August 2024.
In addition to scoring in stoppage time on his debut against Wigan Athletic, the Scottish winger had shown glimpses of his brilliance in League One despite missing two spells due to injury.
Unfortunately for the 28-year-old, the second of those was the second ACL blow of his career, keeping him out for the majority of 2025 as the Blues won League One and invested in players like Patrick Roberts upon their return to the Championship.
Wright has now spent the second half of the season on loan at Dundee FC, and it appears that there isn’t much of a road back for his Blues career as it stands.
1Marvin Ducksch
The final member of this quintet is Kyogo’s attacking partner, Marvin Ducksch, who signed from Werder Bremen for £1.75 million last August.
Again, the experienced two-cap German international arrived in England with fitness difficulties, so it wasn’t until November that he was completely firing in front of the net.
Ducksch, on the other hand, has emerged as a vital contributor for the Blues in front of goal, despite his inconsistent in-game performance.
Regardless, Davies recently remarked that this is a good for his club, though it remains to be seen whether the 32-year-old will stay much longer.
That is because, according to BILD, AEK Athens and Real Sociedad have indicated interest in the player’s prospective top-flight transfer, albeit the Blues might still profit with the striker under contract until 2028.
xz
