Birmingham City’s return to the Championship did not quite meet the owners’ expectations.

Knighthead Capital have declared a desire to return the Blues to the Premier League as soon as feasible.

The Midlands club returned to the second division after being promoted from League One in 2025, but could only finish 10th in the league.

Chris Davies’ side missed out on a top six finish by nine points, prompting some questions about his job as head coach.

Craig Gardner’s retirement from his position as sporting director was one significant adjustment made behind the scenes following the season’s conclusion.

Birmingham will be eager to find his replacement as soon as possible, given the importance of that position in the recruitment process.

Birmingham City suffers blow in sporting director search.

The Sunderland Echo stated that Birmingham target Kristjaan Speakman is set to join Danish club Copenhagen.

The former Sunderland manager left the club in February of this year, although he played an important role in their promotion from League One to the Premier League.

He was essential in bringing in Régis Le Bris, who led the Black Cats to promotion in 2025 and managed a seventh-place performance in the top division this season.

Speakman has a good reputation in the game and was one of three players linked with a move to St. Andrews following Gardner’s departure.

However, Birmingham will lose out on his hiring, as the sporting director is due to relocate to Denmark.

The 47-year-old is believed to be in advanced talks with the European team after considering his options following his departure from Sunderland earlier this year.

Birmingham have also been linked to Dan Ashworth, who has previously worked for the Football Association, Brighton, and Manchester United.

He is also a free agent, having left Old Trafford in the early part of the season.

Mike Rigg, who is currently the academy director at Birmingham, has also been suggested as a possible candidate.

With the transfer window now open, Birmingham will want to schedule a quick appointment to get their business up and running.

The Championship side will be looking for a greater promotion drive next season, especially when the play-offs grow to include two more teams in 2027.

Kristjaan Speakman could have been an effective appointment for Birmingham.

Speakman received a lot of credit for his contributions to Sunderland’s rise to the Premier League.

His nomination could have been a huge coup for Birmingham, therefore it’s a terrible shame that they missed out on that opportunity.

However, Ashworth has a good reputation and has performed well with the FA and Brighton, but he did not receive enough opportunity to prove what he can accomplish at Manchester United.

Promoting Rigg would be an unusual move, but given Birmingham’s great academy production over the years, bringing him into the sporting director post could not be a bad idea either, so there are still possibilities with Speakman out of the picture.