They Are Not My “Project!”Birmingham City Boss List Another Fresh Names Of Players That Must Leave

Six Birmingham City players whose futures are in doubt ahead of January transfer window

Birmingham City have stocked their squad so well that the January transfer window will likely be quiet in terms of incomings – unless players depart that need to be replaced.

That is always the danger when a squad has such strength-in-depth. Inevitably there will be players who want to play more and will look elsewhere.

Long gone are the days where Blues’ best players are cherry-picked. Krystian Bielik, Paik Seung-ho and Ethan Laird have all recently committed to long-term contracts, tying themselves to ‘The Project’.

But there will inevitably be some movement, there always is. Here, we take a look at some players whose futures are likely to come under the microscope in January

Alfie Chang

Chris Davies has spoken glowingly about Chang’s willingness to put in the hard yards to return from injury, but the 22-year-old returns to a very different Blues first team to the one he played in 14 months ago.

Blues’ midfield is now stacked. Davies has forged a pairing he believes has Premier League potential in Paik Seung-ho and Tomoki Iwata. Marc Leonard and Taylor Gardner-Hickman are right behind them.

Chang is going to find it extremely difficult to force his way back into the fold in the second half of the season. A loan move in January would allow Chang to regain match fitness and confidence before a more definitive decision on his Blues future can be taken next summer.

Dion Sanderson

No one would have envisaged that Sanderson would be Blues’ fourth choice centre-back three months on from a pre-season campaign which rebuilt his image in the eyes of many Bluenoses. Sanderson’s red card at Charlton was costly but the foot injury that followed was extremely damaging.

The club’s former captain might have had opportunities to regain his place in Blues’ line-up but, in his absence, Ben Davies impressed to become Chris Davies’ go-to deputy for Krystian Bielik and Christoph Klarer.

Now there is a question mark over whether Sanderson will stick around if his opportunities are limited. He does still have two-and-a-half years to run on his contract and Blues would need to replace him.

Alfons Sampsted

Sampsted’s situation is slightly complex because the Iceland international has joined Blues on a loan deal from FC Twente. The deal includes an option-to-buy and Sampsted isn’t expected to return to Twente.

However, the Iceland international has found the going tough at Blues and hasn’t started a League One game yet. When Laird was out injured, Gardner-Hickman was preferred at right-back to Sampsted.

Sampsted is still adapting to Davies’ way and could become a more important player in the second half of the season, but if he isn’t content with his bit-part then he could seek an exit route in January.