Birmingham City’s 2026/27 Championship season has begun in exciting manner, marking Chris Davies’ third season in charge of St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park since his appointment in June 2024.

Under Knighthead Capital Management’s ambitious management, Blues hope to return to the Premier League sooner rather than later, with the ownership group frequently referring to the ‘project’ as critical to enticing fresh recruits to B9 in the transfer market.

That is not to suggest that all of the club’s recent additions have been successful, since the two transfer windows in the 2025/26 season produced mixed results.

As a result, spending power was rather limited in this section of the West Midlands during the most recent transfer window, despite the fact that Davies’ team expanded by eight players.

Birmingham have been competitive in the majority of their games this season, particularly after being humiliated by Brentford in the EFL Cup last month, and Davies has presented his 25-man roster for the period between now and January 2027.

As a result, some players may believe they have a point to show when it comes to earning new contracts in the near future, but there are four players on the club’s roster who will leave on June 30th, or possibly earlier, if circumstances change.

James Beadle

The first of the quartet is England youth international James Beadle, who also spent last season on loan at Birmingham from Premier League club Brighton and Hove Albion.

After spending time away from the AMEX Stadium with Oxford United and Sheffield Wednesday, the 22-year-old appeared 35 times last season, replacing Ryan Allsop and maintaining eight clean sheets.

Although his performances divided opinion, Davies chose to reconnect with Beadle this summer, this time on loan, though based on recent performances, Birmingham’s defensive showings can surely be improved for the balance of the season.

Tomoki Iwata

Next up is Tomoki Iwata, who joined from Celtic in August 2024 on a three-year contract.

The Japanese became an instant favourite during Birmingham’s record-breaking League One season, particularly for his magnificent goals against Wrexham and Newcastle United, but had an intriguing debut season in the Championship last time out.

Indeed, due to injuries to Bright Osayi-Samuel and Ethan Laird, the 29-year-old was forced to play at his unnatural right-back position for the majority of his 45 games.

However, he has reverted to his usual position in the heart of midfield this season.

Scott Wright

Scott Wright, the third of four players scheduled to leave Birmingham next June, joined from Rangers in a late-season deal two years ago.

Despite occasionally performing in League One, the winger’s fortunes haven’t improved since suffering a catastrophic knee injury at Reading in February 2025.

Scott Wright’s Birmingham City Statistics

Appearances

24

Goals

3

Assists

2

Wright was loaned out to Dundee FC in January after regaining fitness, although he only made ten appearances at Dens Park, and due to the Blues’ own activities, the 29-year-old was anticipated to leave St. Andrew’s this summer.

While such conditions did not arise, Wright will miss the first few months of the season after being left out of Davies’ 25-man squad, putting his immediate future in peril.

Liam Millar

Rounding up this roster is 44-time Canadian international Liam Millar, who signed on loan from Hull City on Deadline Day and made an immediate impact in an entertaining draw with Wolves on debut.

The 26-year-old had had mixed results at the MKM Stadium after joining from FC Basel two years ago, with his final outing before the loan deal seeing him score the winner against Coventry City in the Premier League following Hull’s play-off victory in May.

However, the Liverpool academy graduate has clearly been on Davies’ radar for some time, and if he can gain regular minutes, depending on circumstances at the Blues and Tigers, a permanent deal could be reached after the Championship side initially beat Stoke City and Middlesbrough to his temporary services.