Birmingham City’s Emil Hansson has spoken out about the ‘brutal’ nature of his summer loan move from St Andrew’s at Knighthead Park to League One club Blackpool, with the winger one of many Blues players dropped by Chris Davies following the club’s promotion back to the Championship.
The former Norway and Sweden youth international arrived with a strong reputation in League One, having scored five goals and provided six assists in just 24 games during his second and final season with Heracles in the Dutch top division.
However, he would struggle to make a significant impression in B9 as Birmingham romped to the third-tier title under Davies, shattering a slew of records along the way.
Injuries ruined Hansson’s debut season with the Blues, with a muscle ailment keeping the Swede out for several months, and he finished with only one goal and two assists in 20 league appearances, 12 of which were starts.
Hansson was then left out of the Blues’ pre-season preparations, along with fellow first-teamers Alfons Sampsted, Tyler Roberts, and Dion Sanderson, before being loaned out to Blackpool, with the latter two also temporarily leaving St Andrew’s to join Mansfield Town and Derby County.
Emil Hansson, who has been in and out of the Blackpool team throughout their struggle against relegation to League Two, has opened up about his ‘brutal’ summer exit from Birmingham City under Chris Davies.
The 27-year-old was swiftly informed that he would have no future with Davies’ side ahead of the 2025/26 Championship season, describing the situation as “sad” and “brutal”.
He did, however, acknowledge Birmingham’s sacrifices in the club’s ambitious bid to return to the Premier League through continued lavish investment in Davies’ squad, which saw Blues sign the likes of Marvin Ducksch, Kyogo Furuhashi, and fellow left-sided winger Gray during yet another free-spending summer window.
In an interview with Fotbollskanalen, Hansson addressed his departure: “I came back for preseason and worked hard. I wanted to give it a try.
“But pretty early on, I realized I needed to move on. I wasn’t even in preseason; I had to workout with a few other players. It was undoubtedly difficult. But that is part of the game. They invest to enter the Premier League.
“For me, it was upsetting because when I left the Netherlands, I hoped to go somewhere where I could play for a few years. I got a three-year contract, which was what I expected.
“It was terrible, but that’s the life of a footballer, especially abroad. “It can be brutal sometimes.”
He went on: “As long as they follow my contract, I can’t say anything. Sometimes there is a fuss when a player wants to leave a club, as with Alexander Isak (who joined Liverpool from Newcastle United after forcing a move in an explosive summer dispute).
But people don’t notice when a club approaches a player and says, “You have to leave.”
“A lot of nonsense happens in the world of football. I do not know. I try to see the positive and learn from it. You also learn from difficult situations, and things don’t always go as planned.
“You have to keep battling and handle things day by day. Things can change quickly in football. All of a sudden, I get the start, score a goal, and you’re off and running. “I try to maintain a positive attitude.”
Birmingham City are certain to approve a permanent Emil Hansson transfer exit next summer.
It appears like Hansson has no future with Birmingham, as the winger has struggled to make an impact for Blackpool thus far, remaining on the perimeter of Ian Evatt’s side in a relegation battle at Bloomfield Road.
Simply put, the former Feyenoord and Hannover 96 attacker has struggled to adjust to English football after leaving the Eredivisie, where his talents may be better suited.
There’s certainly a player in there somewhere, as evidenced by his track record in the Netherlands and the Blues’ decision to pay a seven-figure fee for his services, but he hasn’t progressed as expected, and City can’t afford any passengers as Knighthead aggressively pursues promotion to the Premier League.
Next summer, he will have only one year left on his present contract, and Birmingham will undoubtedly seek to collect any available money for the out-of-favour forward.
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