Birmingham Live

Relegation from the Championship hurt all associated with Birmingham City at the back end of last season - but that pain has subsided over the course of the summer and now optimism abounds. Pre-season friendlies have the juices flowing as supporters are handed their first glimpse of Blues' raft of new signings, all under the watchful eye of new boss Chris Davies.

While there remain a number of friendlies left in the schedule, everything is angled towards the visit of Reading to St Andrew's on 10 August. Seven new signings have been made, with the goalkeeping department totally transformed. Willum Willumsson, Alfie May and Emil Hansson led the line in the win over Shrewsbury Town on Saturday, too.

Blues, clearly, are not done, both in terms of recruitment and selling. Chris Davies told BirminghamLiveafter the game at the weekend that their business is 'nowhere near' finished, which is especially exciting heading into the remaining five weeks or so of the transfer window. What is the ideal scenario in what is to play out in these coming weeks?

READ: Picture is becoming clearer for Chris Davies as Blues prepare League One assault

READ: Fulham have Jay Stansfield transfer decision after 13-goal Birmingham City loan

Pre-season friendlies

Transfers in

As mentioned, Blues have been busy. Goalkeepers Ryan Allsop (Hull City) and Bailey Peacock-Farrell (Burnley) have directly replaced Neil Etheridge and John Ruddy, who left at the end of last season. Blues have refreshed their forward department with the signing of May from Charlton, fresh from winning the League One golden boot, while Blues have been to the Netherlands to recruit Hansson and Willumsson and Scotland for Alex Cochrane.

Most recently, they spent big again to sign defender Christoph Klarer from Darmstadt, who spent last season in the Bundesliga in Germany. Blues have, at the time of writing, already spent north of £10m with more funds available and more players required across the various departments of the squad.

Transfers out

The reason Blues must continue signing, simply, is because of the wave of departures since the end of last season - and those in the pipeline. As well as the exits of the five loanees, there were keeper Ruddy and Etheridge, defender Marc Roberts, striker Scott Hogan and midfielders Gary Gardner and Ivan Sunjic.

Two further players who won't be playing a part in Blues' League One charge are Juninho Bacuna and Manny Longelo; midfielder Bacuna has interest from Turkey and Longelo has been the subject of a bid from League One rivals Barnsley. Neither went to Austria for the club's pre-season camp and Davies has confirmed they'll be leaving.

The dream scenario before the deadline

Jay Stansfield is the man on everybody's lips right now. Reports have emerged that Fulham may allow the striker to leave the club on loan again this summer, after his 13-goal loan spell at St Andrew's last year - a loan in which he scooped all five end of season awards - an impressive individual campaign despite the collective demise.

Blues are spending money and aren't messing around in the market, but might attracting Stansfield - who grew a real affinity with Blues while on loan last season - prove too tricky while they're a League One side? Perhaps, but Blues may only discover if they have a genuine interest in bringing him back and make an effort to. It'd be the biggest sign of their intentions if they were to twist Fulham's arm.

Elsewhere, Blues need clarity on the futures of a number of key players. It's difficult to know at this stage as you cannot predict the movements of rival clubs, but the sooner Blues know where they stand with the likes of Paik Seung-ho, the better. The classy Korean would be a serious weapon for Davies if he were to remain, as Krystian Bielik has decided to.

They also need to know what is going to happen with Jordan James. The Welsh international was excellent for large parts of last season and scored at the weekend. Teams in the Championship and maybe even the Premier League are likely to be admirers. The resolving of James' future, which was spotlighted in January, is needed pronto.

What else do Blues need?

It wouldn't be an awfully big surprise to see Davies return to Tottenham - as he has already to add to his coaching staff - and tap into his relationship with Ange Postecoglou to pick up a young loanee or two. Strikers Will Lankshear, Alfie Devine and Dane Scarlett could all be provided with loan moves, so too Jamie Donley and Mikey Moore.

Davies wants two players fighting for each position, so another right-back is in order - Max Johnston has been linked - while there is still room for another centre half, another central midfielder and potentially another wide player, too.

Relegation from the Championship hurt all associated with Birmingham City at the back end of last season - but that pain has subsided over the course of the summer and now optimism abounds. Pre-season friendlies have the juices flowing as supporters are handed their first glimpse of Blues' raft of new signings, all under the watchful eye of new boss Chris Davies.

While there remain a number of friendlies left in the schedule, everything is angled towards the visit of Reading to St Andrew's on 10 August. Seven new signings have been made, with the goalkeeping department totally transformed. Willum Willumsson, Alfie May and Emil Hansson led the line in the win over Shrewsbury Town on Saturday, too.

Blues, clearly, are not done, both in terms of recruitment and selling. Chris Davies told BirminghamLiveafter the game at the weekend that their business is 'nowhere near' finished, which is especially exciting heading into the remaining five weeks or so of the transfer window. What is the ideal scenario in what is to play out in these coming weeks?

READ: Picture is becoming clearer for Chris Davies as Blues prepare League One assault

READ: Fulham have Jay Stansfield transfer decision after 13-goal Birmingham City loan

Pre-season friendlies

Transfers in

As mentioned, Blues have been busy. Goalkeepers Ryan Allsop (Hull City) and Bailey Peacock-Farrell (Burnley) have directly replaced Neil Etheridge and John Ruddy, who left at the end of last season. Blues have refreshed their forward department with the signing of May from Charlton, fresh from winning the League One golden boot, while Blues have been to the Netherlands to recruit Hansson and Willumsson and Scotland for Alex Cochrane.

Most recently, they spent big again to sign defender Christoph Klarer from Darmstadt, who spent last season in the Bundesliga in Germany. Blues have, at the time of writing, already spent north of £10m with more funds available and more players required across the various departments of the squad.

Transfers out

The reason Blues must continue signing, simply, is because of the wave of departures since the end of last season - and those in the pipeline. As well as the exits of the five loanees, there were keeper Ruddy and Etheridge, defender Marc Roberts, striker Scott Hogan and midfielders Gary Gardner and Ivan Sunjic.

Two further players who won't be playing a part in Blues' League One charge are Juninho Bacuna and Manny Longelo; midfielder Bacuna has interest from Turkey and Longelo has been the subject of a bid from League One rivals Barnsley. Neither went to Austria for the club's pre-season camp and Davies has confirmed they'll be leaving.

The dream scenario before the deadline

Jay Stansfield is the man on everybody's lips right now. Reports have emerged that Fulham may allow the striker to leave the club on loan again this summer, after his 13-goal loan spell at St Andrew's last year - a loan in which he scooped all five end of season awards - an impressive individual campaign despite the collective demise.

Blues are spending money and aren't messing around in the market, but might attracting Stansfield - who grew a real affinity with Blues while on loan last season - prove too tricky while they're a League One side? Perhaps, but Blues may only discover if they have a genuine interest in bringing him back and make an effort to. It'd be the biggest sign of their intentions if they were to twist Fulham's arm.

Elsewhere, Blues need clarity on the futures of a number of key players. It's difficult to know at this stage as you cannot predict the movements of rival clubs, but the sooner Blues know where they stand with the likes of Paik Seung-ho, the better. The classy Korean would be a serious weapon for Davies if he were to remain, as Krystian Bielik has decided to.

They also need to know what is going to happen with Jordan James. The Welsh international was excellent for large parts of last season and scored at the weekend. Teams in the Championship and maybe even the Premier League are likely to be admirers. The resolving of James' future, which was spotlighted in January, is needed pronto.

What else do Blues need?

It wouldn't be an awfully big surprise to see Davies return to Tottenham - as he has already to add to his coaching staff - and tap into his relationship with Ange Postecoglou to pick up a young loanee or two. Strikers Will Lankshear, Alfie Devine and Dane Scarlett could all be provided with loan moves, so too Jamie Donley and Mikey Moore.

Davies wants two players fighting for each position, so another right-back is in order - Max Johnston has been linked - while there is still room for another centre half, another central midfielder and potentially another wide player, too.

Arsenal are refusing to give up on signing Wolves ' goalkeeper Dan Bentley.

Arsenal are still chasing another goalkeeper, having seen a £50,000 bid for Wolves back-up Bentley rejected. The 31-year-old has one year left on his contract and the Gunners have reportedly lodged a second offer worth in the region of £300,000 for his signature. Wolves are understood to want closer to £1m.

BirminghamLive says: Wolves won't be handing Bentley the number one shirt anytime soon, Bentley only managed three Premier League appearances last season. However, good back-up keepers are worth their weight in gold and there's no reason why they should push one of the game's bigger players for a bit more money.

Show me the money!

Spurs are the latest team being linked with a move for flying winger Pedro Neto.

Injury hit Neto is a clear talent and one that all Premier League teams are aware of, with some very keen on spending big to land the Portuguese.

His injury record has put some off with Wolves wanting top tier money for a player they see as an elite performer in waiting.

The website Football Transfers, claimes that Spurs technical director Johan Lange, has ‘initiated discussions’ with Wolves about a potential deal.

Neto, 24, is contracted to Wolves until June 2027 with the Midlands club under no pressure to sell, despite concerns over FFP in recent seasons.

BirminghamLive says: We love watching Neto fly down the wing on the counter attack for Wolves. He's the player post Adama Traore that gets bums off seats and ensures quality every time he has the ball.

His injuries mean he is always a risk and always uncertain in terms of reliability, but there is nothing to suggest that those injuries are not in the past.

What Wolves fans don't want is him going on the cheap, why can't the club demand top money for a player that so many teams clearly want in their own side.

Neto is a £50m+ players and there isn't any team who should even be picking up the phone to start talks unless they thing that is a reasonable starting point.

Wolves don't want to sell Neto, but you would have to say that with that kind of money on the table, they would certainly be interested. The message to Arsenal, NManchester United and Tottenham is to get serious with your spending, otherwise leave the player settled where he is.

A crying Che-me

One player who won't be heading for Molineux is free agent, Che Adams.

The striker has been a target for Gary O'Neil and the Wolves hierarchy but now it seems his future lies outside the Premier League after all.

Fabrizio Romano wrote on X: “Torino are closing in on deal to sign Che Adams as free agent, talks at final stages now. Che Adams has approved project presented by Torino and final details are being sorted.

“He’s set for first experience in Serie A, as @iljackmora has reported.”

BirminghamLive says: This is a deal that made a lot of sense for Wolves on paper and for where they are as a club at the moment. He would have been perfect on a free transfer and would have given the club that extra layer in terms of competition for places.

With such a minimal financial risk and outlay involved, it's puzzling that Wolves weren't able to get a deal over the line or be interesting enough for Adams to see Molineux as a viable destination.

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has already previously addressed his views on the abilities of midfielder Jacob Ramsey and how he desires for the midfielder to remain at the club. Academy product Ramsey has been extensively linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur this summer window, with Argentine Giovanni Lo Celso touted as a player who might head in the opposite direction.

Ramsey, 23, is a Villa academy product who has been in and around the Villa first-team environment since the days of Dean Smith. He, like many of his teammates, have continued to elevate their performance levels since Emery arrived at the club in the autumn of 2022, that being despite his various injury issues - which continue to dog him even now.

Well known to Spurs' technical director Johan Lange, who worked previously at Villa with Smith and then Steven Gerrard, Ramsey endured a difficult campaign last year, one which was bookended by injuries; having returned from helping England under 21s to win the Euros last summer with a broken metatarsal, he didn't feature until the end of September.

READ: Barcelona devise Nico Williams transfer plan amid Aston Villa interest

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Ramsey then missed the end of the campaign with another foot problem, not featuring again after early March, and he hasn't yet been seen in Villa's pre-season preparations this summer, either. The links with Spurs, though, haven't gone away, but Emery - who was faced with questions about Ramsey's future in January - addressed the links back then, explaining how he understood why there'd be an interest in such a talent but that he hoped Ramsey would remain.

“Jacob Ramsey is a very important player,” said Emery back in January. “He grew up here in the academy. His progression is clear and getting better. I want to keep him here with us. Teams maybe involved in the possibility to sign him, because he is a potentially big, big player in Aston Villa and England. I want to keep him here 100%."

Villa are close to signing Amadou Onana from Everton, which will be one of the most expensive deals in the club's history. Douglas Luiz has left and Boubacar Kamara is to miss the start of the season with a knee injury, but Emery still has Ramsey, John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and new signings Ross Barkley and Enzo Barrenechea to call on in that department.

Tottenham have not given up on trying to lure Aston Villa's Jacob Ramsey to the capital as they look to follow up the £30m arrival of Archie Gray from Leeds.

Spurs reportedly lodged a bid for Ramsey earlier in the summer when the offer of £20m plus Giovani Lo Celso was knocked back. But it was claimed that a revised bid of £30m and Lo Celso might be enough to tempt Villa into doing business.

Ramsey was an important figure for Villa last season as he scored six goals and registered seven assists as the club secured its place in the Champions League.

READ | Chris Heck outlines how Aston Villa become 'one of the best clubs in the world'

READ | Women’s Football News July Issue On Sale Now

And while Spurs have already bagged Gray from Leeds in one of the prominent deals of the summer, Ramsey might be next on their hit list. According to Sky Sports journalist Dharmesh Sheth, who was speaking to the Last Word on Spurs podcast, Tottenham have not abandoned their pursuit.

“I was speaking to someone about this earlier on because it went quiet when a deal didn't materialise," said Sheth. "But I am told it's not off the table yet as far as Tottenham are concerned, they are still interested in Jacob Ramsey.”

Ramsey came through the ranks at Villa and has gone on to make more than 100 league appearances and has scored 13 goals.

Tottenham have not given up on trying to lure Aston Villa's Jacob Ramsey to the capital as they look to follow up the £30m arrival of Archie Gray from Leeds.

Spurs reportedly lodged a bid for Ramsey earlier in the summer when the offer of £20m plus Giovani Lo Celso was knocked back. But it was claimed that a revised bid of £30m and Lo Celso might be enough to tempt Villa into doing business.

Ramsey was an important figure for Villa last season as he scored six goals and registered seven assists as the club secured its place in the Champions League.

READ | Chris Heck outlines how Aston Villa become 'one of the best clubs in the world'

READ | Women’s Football News July Issue On Sale Now

And while Spurs have already bagged Gray from Leeds in one of the prominent deals of the summer, Ramsey might be next on their hit list. According to Sky Sports journalist Dharmesh Sheth, who was speaking to the Last Word on Spurs podcast, Tottenham have not abandoned their pursuit.

“I was speaking to someone about this earlier on because it went quiet when a deal didn't materialise," said Sheth. "But I am told it's not off the table yet as far as Tottenham are concerned, they are still interested in Jacob Ramsey.”

Ramsey came through the ranks at Villa and has gone on to make more than 100 league appearances and has scored 13 goals.

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."

READ: Blues squad depth indicates Chris Davies needs at least six signings

READ: Blues have six alternatives to Eerdhuijzen after transfer breaks down

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.

Chris Davies has raided former club Tottenham Hotspur to add Nathan Gardiner to his Birmingham City coaching staff.

Gardiner has joined Blues in the position of first team assistant coach after an 18-year coaching career, 14 of which were spent in Spurs' backroom team. The 47-year-old's most recent role at Spurs saw him appointed head of sports science in March after holding first team roles at Fulham and Charlton Athletic.

Davies has already added experienced coach Ben Petty to his ranks and Gardiner beefs up his staff. Goalkeeping coach Maik Taylor and Ashley Cole are still in situ at Blues.

Blues say Gardiner "will assist the performance department to ensure players achieve optimal fitness and conditioning, whilst working closely with the club’s medical department with a focus on recovery and rehabilitation. His expertise will also aid in the monitoring of player loading and the planning and delivery of pre-game preparation."

READ: Birmingham City have six alternatives to Eerdhuijzen after transfer breaks down

READ: Alfie May shares real reason he quit Charlton for Birmingham City

Davies said: “Nathan has extensive experience in fitness and conditioning, having worked at the top level of English football for the last 18 years, 14 of which were at Spurs where I worked with him.

“As well as a deep knowledge of loading and periodisation, Nathan is an excellent communicator amongst both players and staff. He is a hardworking and reliable individual, who has made a positive contribution in every club he has been at.”

Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa and his team-mates kept an eye on Tottenham as they won on Saturday - and the Lions responded

Aston are fourth in the Premier League but face competition from Tottenham Hotspur to qualify for next season's Champions League