Sport
Transfer Twist: Blues get Upper Hand Over Luton Town and Oxford United in Spurs Transfer
Birmingham City face a huge summer transfer window as they begin to adapt to life in League One under new boss Chris Davies.
Blues are set to face their first campaign in the third tier since 1994/1995, with plenty of change afoot on and off the pitch already happening, not least with Davies’ appointment on June 6 following Gary Rowett’s departure and Tony Mowbray’s decision to stand down from his manager post, amid recovery from surgery.
Neil Etheridge, Gary Gardner, Scott Hogan, Marc Roberts, Ivan Sunjic and John Ruddy have all been allowed to leave the club upon the expiry of their contracts, while Alex Pritchard left to join Sivasspor on July 1.
Davies has already moved to make some key additions to his squad too, with Alfie May, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Ryan Allsop and Emil Hansson all arriving from Charlton Athletic, Burnley, Hull City and Heracles respectively – an ambitious set of additions indeed.
City are certainly set to be busy on the transfer front in the coming months, and have recently been credited by Football London with a loan interest in Tottenham Hotspur youngster Jamie Donley, alongside two Championship clubs.
Prior to taking the Birmingham job, Davies was senior assistant coach at Spurs under Ange Postecoglou, so his links to the club will surely give them a boost in their pursuit of Donley’s signature this summer.
Jamie Donley, Birmingham City transfer latest
Birmingham are looking at taking the 19-year-old on loan for the season, according to football.london, but face fierce competition from a host of clubs that can offer second tier football.
Tottenham are not believed to be willing to sell Donley, but football.london reports that Luton Town, Oxford United and Bristol City are all also interested in giving him a first taste of professional football away on loan from North London.
While a move to a Championship side may seem like it makes more sense for Donley on the face of things, the chance to work with Davies, who was reportedly impressed by him last season after he broke into Postecoglou’s first-team, should give Blues a huge advantage in potential talks.
The England youth international is very highly-rated at Spurs and shone for their under-21’s side last season, prompting the Australian to hand him four first-team appearances throughout the campaign.
| Jamie Donley 2023/24 Tottenham Hotspur Under-21’s Stats | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 23 |
| Goals | 8 |
| Assists | 17 |
| Stats As Per Transfermarkt (All Competitions) | |
He is set to be involved with the first-team in pre-season and could even be taken on Tottenham’s upcoming summer tour to Japan and South Korea at the end of July, as per the report from football.london, yet could make a move before he has the chance.
As it stands, Birmingham should have the upper-hand when it comes to negotiations regarding Donley – Davies is a familar face to the 19-year-old, and will likely also be able to offer more regular first-team minutes than their Championship counterparts.
Jamie Donley would be a good fit for Chris Davies’ Birmingham City rebuild
While it is still unclear as to which formation Davies will deploy while at St. Andrew’s, many would point to Spurs’ consistent use of a 4-2-3-1 while he was at the club last season as a possible indication of what he may go with.
If that is the case, Blues will need a new signing to come in to play just behind new striker Alfie May, and the 19-year-old is a perfect fit, given his favoured position is as an attacking midfielder that likes to find key passes and link the play to the attack.
Davies does not currently have such a player in his squad, with Koji Miyoshi and Keshi Anderson both able, but more suited to the wings, and Juninho Bacuna seemingly set to follow Alex Pritchard to Turkish side Sivasspor, according to BirminghamLive.
Donley could also provide a back-up option as a striker, after previously playing there before gradually moving further back into midfield over the last couple of years, or even as a box-to-box player in a midfield three, given his tendency to drop deep and receive the ball on the turn.
Along with Bacuna, there could be more midfield outgoings in the coming months with Paik Seung-ho and Jordan James possibly also set to leave, so Blues must get their recruitment spot on if they wish to bounce back to the second-tier at the first time of asking.
19-year-old Donley would certainly be a good start to their additions in the middle of the park, and Blues should be in a commanding position with boss Davies if Spurs sanction a loan exit soon.
