New St Andrew’s chief Chris Davies will open up new recruitment avenues to Birmingham City.
Blues face an enormous rebuild job this summer after 11 senior players left the club at the end of last season. Doubts also remain over a number of important players in the first team squad who may not be willing to drop into League One - but three players have already arrived to bolster the squad.
Davies has been given the brief to build ‘a Championship ready squad for League One’ by those who employed him and admitted recruitment was of the utmost importance in his first interview as Blues boss. He said: "Recruitment is critical for every team and we have quite a few positions to fill.
“We must do it calmly and clearly, and bring the right characters in, because it’s imperative that who we do bring in fit what we’re trying to create here both on the pitch and with their behaviours off the pitch. There are some skilled people here already that are working hard on that and that will be a big focus in the next few weeks, getting that going."
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Blues could gain access to Tottenham Hotspur’s youngsters as a result of Davies’ appointment. Premier League clubs like to know that their best young talent will be coached correctly and Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has seen Davies’ work first-hand.
There are more than a dozen Spurs starlets gearing up for potential loan moves in 2024/25. Some, such as Oliver Skipp, won’t be interested in a move to League One, but Davies might be able to lure one or two to St Andrew’s.
Dane Scarlett
Scarlett is an exciting 20-year-old forward whose career needs a reboot after an unsuccessful spell at Ipswich Town in the Championship last term. He made 12 appearances in the Championship, all of which came from the bench, before returning to Tottenham midway through the campaign.
Davies coached Scarlett at close quarters and might be able to convince him to drop back down to League One, where he scored four times in 34 outings for Portsmouth in 2022/23.
Jude Soonsup-Bell
Soonsup-Bell is another Spurs forward being tipped for a loan move after a goal-laden campaign with their under-21s. Twelve goals and eight assists from 26 appearances is a tidy return, even in development football.
He has played for Chelsea and Spurs at youth level and represented England up to the under-19s. A spell in League One isn’t beyond the 6ft 1in striker.
Yago Santiago
Santiago is a 21-year-old winger from Spain who hasn’t made the breakthrough into Spurs’ first team, but he did feature on the bench four times last season. According to football.london, ‘a loan move is the next natural step’ for Santiago.
Will Lankshear
Spurs won’t be short on offers for 19-year-old striker Lankshear, who scored 23 times in 23 Premier League 2 matches last season. The prolific centre-forward also netted twice in the EFL Trophy for Spurs’ under-21s and contributed 32 goals in total.
There’s a good chance Lankshear will be included in Spurs’ pre-season plans before a decision is made on his future. He commented: "I'm going to keep working hard. I'll work in the off-season. I can only work on what I can control really. That's just working hard and not losing focus. If it's for the U21s or the first team when I come back, I'll give it my all and I'll try to score as many goals as I can for whichever team I play for.”
Jamie Donley
Another exciting forward who has shone for Spurs’ second string in the last 12 months, Donley contributed to 19 goals in 20 Premier League 2 appearances. The 19-year-old who hails from Northern Ireland forced his way into Postecoglou’s plans last season and made three first team appearances.
George Abbott
Davies loves midfield players and Abbott, 18, stood out in Tottenham’s academy last season. Abbott captained Spurs to victory in the Premier League 2 play-off final against Sunderland and is ready for a loan move.
Blues have issues to resolve in their midfield with Jordan James expected to leave and the possibility that Paik Seung-ho and Krystian Bielik could depart too.