Birmingham City fell 0-2 to Leicester City last Friday in a less than appealing display, managing just 1 shot on target all game despite a total of 11 shots and 55% possession. The absence of Jay Stansfield was definitely felt and Kyogo Furuhashi was unable to provide any spark. The loss leaves the Blues 5 points off the lead.
It also shows that this season is not going to be the cakewalk that the team enjoyed last time around and Premier League ambitions will need to be backed up by serious effort.
At the same time, the transfer deadline has come and gone. The club was of course busy but has not been quite as successful as anticipated.
First, the deal with Hibernian for Lyndon Dykes ultimately fell apart as the Scottish outfit refused Birmingham’s demands that they pay part of his remaining EFL wages.
32-year-old defender Jack Robinson was signed from Sheffield United where he was captain and had spent the last 5 years. He played for the Blades against his new team in the Carabao Cup just a few weeks ago. He also has Premier League experience.
The Celtic connection grew bigger with the permanent signing of winger Patrick Roberts on a loan deal. The one-time Hoops star was most recently with Sunderland and like Robinson has seen the Prem.
There have been rumors that the Blues want to sign free agent Dele Alli. The club has stated there is no substance to the rumors. Alli has barely played in the past two years and would not be an overly attractive acquisition. The anticipated signing of free agent Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has also not been completed but apparently remains in the works.
There is no rush to complete the deal really – the EFL Championship is idle this week for the international break. This also means that Jay Stansfield should be recovered from his ankle injury before the next game, which will be yet another tough assignment at 3rd-place Stoke City next Saturday.
