£8m Nottingham Forest outcast and defender sign: Birmingham City’s monster new starting line-up predicted

Birmingham City have almost completed a mammoth transfer window

Birmingham City have attacked this summer transfer window with the vigour it was known they would. With a host of new faces already arriving through the door, Blues are not far away from a completing a transfer window to remember.

The League One record-breaking title winners have gone from dark horses to bona fide play-off contenders as the summer has progressed, but Chris Davies and his side may even be hoping to go one better and win promotion at the first attempt.

As their Championship rivals become increasingly worried by the threat Blues could possess in 2025/26, the club have gone in even harder with some headline-grabbing signings to revamp an already strong squad, one of the most valuable squads in the division. We decided to have a look at how Birmingham could line up next season, with further new faces set to be added to their dream starting XI before the Championship campaign gets off and underway in August.

Goalkeeper and defence

Birmingham have already brought in a new face in between the sticks, as England U21 Euro-winning hero James Beadle has joined on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion. Though just 20, which is practically adolescence for a goalkeeper, he has considerable pedigree and has already spent 18 months on loan at Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship. He will have competition from Ryan Allsop.

Bright Osayi-Samuel has joined Blues from Fenerbahce and the former QPR man looks set to start at right-back in front of Ethan Laird, though he can also operate further forward on the wing. Christoph Klarer should continue to start at centre-back and Phil Neumann has been brought in from Hannover 96, though Blues are still attempting to sign Ben Davies permanently from Rangers. Should the deal go over the line, Davies could re-join Klarer in a formidable central defensive partnership, with the consistent Alex Cochrane at left-back.

Midfield and attack

If their defensive additions were impressive, Birmingham’s attacking purchases have been outstanding. Continuing from last season, Tomoki Iwata looks set to start in midfield after a strong season. Wolves and former Manchester City midfielder Tommy Doyle has been brought in on loan, but could yet find himself ousted by a further addition. Blues have been linked with a move for Luke O’Brien, who wants out of Nottingham Forest and spent time on loan with Swansea City last season. He may cost Birmingham £8m, but would surely strengthen their midfield quality even further.

A smart free-agent acquisition, Kanya Fujimoto looks set to start for Birmingham in attacking midfield after starring for Gil Vicente in the Portuguese top flight. Demarai Gray will also surely start on the right-wing, having returned to Blues from Al-Ettifaq as a Premier League title winner. Club-record signing Jay Stansfield may move to operate on the left to make way for arguably the biggest signing of the lot in former Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi, who has arrived from Rennes for an undisclosed fee, expected to be close to the £10m the French club paid Celtic for his services in January.

With a series of strong signings already made and more set to follow, Birmingham could be a true force to be reckoned with in the Championship next season. It remains to be seen just how far they can go.