A new claim has arisen regarding Eiran Cashin’s future at Birmingham City, since the defender’s loan move to the Second City has not yet gone as planned.
The 24-year-old centre-back joined the Blues on a season-long loan from Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer, but has struggled to establish himself at St Andrew’s.
Cashin has only started once in six Championship games and played 188 minutes under Chris Davies, with Christoph Klarer and Phil Neumann anchoring the Blues’ defence.
So it’s perhaps not surprising that reports indicate the Seagulls are planning to recall him in the new year.
Brighton & Hove Albion plan to pull the plug on Eiran Cashin’s Birmingham City loan.
Brighton are anticipated to recall Cashin when the January window opens for business, according to Birmingham Live.
The defender was highly impressive during his time at Derby County, climbing through the ranks before his £9 million move to the Premier League in January, but he has failed to impress Davies in his few opportunities since being on loan.
Given that he made 144 appearances for the Rams and led the team on occasion, he had established himself as one of the country’s most dynamic centre-backs.
According to the article, Birmingham is aware that this recall situation is likely to occur, but the club recognizes that they will need to fix out their defence this winter regardless.
It has been stated that Davies must guarantee that the Blues emerge from the January window with a stronger backline than they had at the start of the season.
This is effectively conceding that the Cashin loan was not as successful as many had hoped.
Calls for Birmingham City to recruit ‘left-footed Christoph Klarer’ in January
Clearly, a recall from Brighton would require Davies to hunt for reinforcements at centre-back, but, as previously stated, the club’s hierarchy appears to have accepted this reality.
Birmingham Live suggests that ‘a left-footed Christoph Klarer’ would be the ideal Cashin replacement, which is difficult to argue with. However, given that the latter is left-footed, it’s most likely a kick in the teeth.
The outlet then highlights the need for another centre-back who can put their body on the line and win duels while still being comfortable on the ball, which is similar to Cashin’s style of play for Derby.
However, the integration of Cashin has proven to be more complicated than anticipated – and he most likely expected to start every week from the beginning.
Klarer’s position in the club is practically guaranteed, as he is the Blues’ captain and has recently signed a new deal until 2029. While Phil Neumann has established himself as his preferred partner, if Cashin is sent back and another player is brought in, competition for that slot will undoubtedly heat up.
Jack Robinson definitely replaced Alex Cochrane at left-back against QPR, but he’d usually be in front of Cashin in the middle if either Klarer or Neumann went down.
So, whether Cashin returns to Brighton to compete for minutes at the Amex or secures a loan switch somewhere remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: his current position at St Andrew’s isn’t working.
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