After nearly missing out on promotion last season, Birmingham City will be hoping to be involved this season.

Blues finished 10th on their return to the second division under Chris Davies, nine points behind the top six, thus additional investment from owner Tom Wagner should help them bridge that gap by the end of the 2026-27 season.

They will be able to tackle the summer transfer window once more to make it happen, with Birmingham’s ownership group reportedly pouring a further £72 million in fresh shares into the club.

Birmingham are yet to explode into life in transfer window, bringing in only three players, two of whom were at St Andrew’s last season in James Beadle (loan) and Jhon Solis (permanent).

One new signing is ex-Middlesbrough defender Dael Fry, who will look to add to his Championship experience in the West Midlands and help solidify the Blues’ backline throughout the season.

In terms of departures, the Blues have been as busy, saying farewell to three players in an effort to balance the books.

Forward Kyogo Furuhashi has left the Blues after a miserable spell, joining MLS club LA Galaxy.

The 31-year-old, who joined Birmingham for a reported fee of £10 million, netted just three times in 31 appearances across all competitions, failing to show the clinical edge he had over in Scotland with Celtic, where he scored 85 times in 165 games.

It’s almost certainly a loss on the original fee Blues paid, but it was important to get Kyogo off the books, with the Japanese international unlikely to yield many results after such a poor start and the fact he was approaching his thirties.

Kyogo has spoken for the first time since leaving Birmingham, following the confirmation of his move to the LA Galaxy.

Kyogo’s first remarks upon leaving Birmingham City for LA Galaxy

Kyogo’s move to the LA Galaxy was confirmed in the early hours of yesterday morning, with the forward signing a contract that will keep him in Los Angeles until the 2030-31 season.

After all of the legalities were finished, Kyogo made a brief video with some words about his move, which was tweeted via the LA Galaxy’s official X account.

Kyogo spoke in his native Japanese, which was translated into English: “Hey G’s, my name is Kyogo.”

“I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone in person.

“G’s up.”

Kyogo will be thrilled to bring Birmingham City’s nightmare to an end.

In football, there are moves to certain clubs that are simply not going to work out, and Kyogo’s time at Birmingham City is another prime example.

There was a lot of pressure on him to perform and justify his £10 million price tag, but the longer he waited for a goal, the more his confidence dwindled, and his first-team opportunities faded quickly.

And after failing to make the squad for Blues’ final seven games of the season, it seemed like his time in the West Midlands was coming to an end, with the club admitting they had failed on this agreement and moving him on as soon as possible.

By moving to America, Kyogo hopes to reignite his career and get back on the goalscoring trail after a difficult time at St Andrew’s, while Birmingham will look to reinvest the money earned from the sale to bring in a new forward who can hit the ground running and be the Championship marksman they require to secure promotion.

All parties agreed that it was appropriate to finish Kyogo’s stay at Birmingham, with everyone now looking forward to the upcoming season.