Birmingham City will be hoping to make an immediate return to the Championship this season.
Birmingham were relegated to League One last season following a disastrous campaign that saw seven different managers take charge of the team, including caretakers, but they look to be in a strong position to bounce back at the first attempt.
The ambitious Blues board heavily backed manager Chris Davies in the transfer market this summer, spending a reported total of around £24 million during the course of the window, including £15 million on Fulham striker Jay Stansfield.
| Birmingham City summer signings |
| Player |
From |
Loan/Permanent |
| Ryan Allsop |
Hull City |
Permanent |
| Bailey Peacock-Farrell |
Burnley |
Permanent |
| Alfons Sampstead |
FC Twente |
Loan |
| Christoph Klarer |
Darmstadt |
Permanent |
| Ben Davies |
Rangers |
Loan |
| Alex Cochrane |
Hearts |
Permanent |
| Marc Leonard |
Brighton & Hove Albion |
Permanent |
| Tomoki Iwata |
Celtic |
Permanent |
| Taylor Gardner-Hickman |
Bristol City |
Loan |
| Luke Harris |
Fulham |
Loan |
| Willum Thor Willumsson |
Go Ahead Eagles |
Permanent |
| Scott Wright |
Rangers |
Permanent |
| Emil Hansson |
Heracles Almelo |
Permanent |
| Alfie May |
Charlton Athletic |
Permanent |
| Ayumu Yokoyama |
Sagan Tosu |
Permanent |
| Lyndon Dykes |
Queens Park Rangers |
Permanent |
| Jay Stansfield |
Fulham |
Permanent |
While their first season at the helm ended in disappointment, Birmingham have been a club transformed since their takeover by Knighthead Capital, headed up by chairman Tom Wagner, last summer.
Just a few weeks after the takeover was confirmed, NFL legend Tom Brady bought a minority stake in the club, and his involvement has brought plenty of extra publicity to the Blues, as shown by their recent 3-1 home win over Wrexham, when stars such as David Beckham and Gary Neville were present in the stands.
Birmingham’s owners have big plans for the club, and in April they announced that they had bought a 48-acre site in the east of the city to build a brand new Sports Quarter, including a 60,000-seater stadium, with the project estimated to cost between £2-3 billion.
In addition, the Blues have recently announced three big sponsorship deals with Delta Air Lines, Nike and UNDEFEATED, and it is believed that the club are set to bring in at least £20-30 million in revenue this season – a figure higher than many Championship clubs – and Wagner has hinted at more exciting partnerships to come.
Wagner has set a target of returning to the Premier League by 2026, which would need the club to achieve back-to-back promotions, and we looked at how the net worth of Birmingham owners compares to those currently in the top flight.
Net worth of Birmingham City owners compared to Premier League’s richest
Birmingham owners Knighthead Capital reportedly manage around $9 billion (£7.25 billion) of assets, and Wagner himself is estimated to have a net worth of around $1.6 billion (£1.34 billion), while Brady is said to be worth around $300m (£252 million).
In total, that gives the Blues owners a combined net worth of just under £9 billion, which would rank them eighth on the list of current Premier League owners, as per GiveMeSport’s rankings.
Only the owners of Newcastle United (£478 billion), Manchester United (£19.2 billion), Aston Villa (£13.8 billion), Manchester City (£12.9 billion), Chelsea (£12.21 billion), Ipswich Town (£10.8 billion) and Arsenal (£9.97 billion) have a greater net worth than the Birmingham owners, underlining the club’s financial power.
The Blues owners have a significantly higher net worth than some of those towards the bottom of the Premier League rich list, including the owners of Brentford (£216.3 million), Nottingham Forest (£479 million), Southampton (£1 billion), Brighton & Hove Albion (£1 billion) and Bournemouth (£1.4 billion).
Birmingham’s owners have certainly not been afraid to invest some of their vast financial resources during their time at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, but Wagner insists that the club are determined to comply with the EFL’s financial rules.
There is no doubt that Wagner and Brady have made a big impact on the Blues, and it seems that the true extent of their plans are yet to be revealed, with Wagner stating that “our ambitions are bigger than has been reported by a fair measure” and claiming that they will “blow people’s minds”.
On the basis of what we have seen from the pair so far, you would be inclined to believe Wagner on that, and while the first priority will be to win promotion from League One, there could be some exciting days ahead for Birmingham supporters.
