FLW discusses three youngsters at Birmingham City that could step up for the first-team next season.
Birmingham City will be playing in England’s third tier for the first time in 30 years next season.
The Blues suffered a dramatic fall down the table last season due to several managerial changes, which were a huge cause for inconsistency and poor results. As a result, they eventually finished the season inside the drop zone, meaning they were surprisingly relegated to League One.
Tony Mowbray was appointed manager back in January, but soon had to step away from his duties for medical reasons, and eventually, in May, he resigned from his role.
| Championship standings 2023/24 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 17 | Stoke City | 46 | -11 | 56 |
| 18 | QPR | 46 | -11 | 56 |
| 19 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | -14 | 53 |
| 20 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | -24 | 53 |
| 21 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | -11 | 51 |
| 22 | Birmingham City (R) | 46 | -15 | 50 |
| 23 | Huddersfield Town (R) | 46 | -29 | 45 |
| 24 | Rotherham United (R) | 46 | -52 | 27 |
On the 6th of June, Birmingham announced that Mowbray’s successor would be 39-year-old, Chris Davies. The Welshman has never managed in senior professional football, but was most recently the Senior Assistant Coach under Ange Postecoglu at Spurs.
The Blues are now entering a new era under Davies as they will be looking to secure an immediate promotion back to the Championship next season. In order to achieve their goal, they must be smart in the summer transfer window, in terms of bringing in fresh faces and keeping a hold of their current stars.
Going down a division means that some of their young, talented players should get the chance to prove their worth with regular game time, therefore hopefully saving the club a lot of money by not having to buy from elsewhere. The Blues have a few young stars on their books that could really step up next season and prevent the club from spending millions on new signings.
Football League World looks at three of Birmingham’s young talents that should be utilised next season by Davies.
1George Hall
George Hall made his first league start for Birmingham at just 17 years of age, before earning his breakout season at the age of 18. The 2022/23 campaign saw him make 30 Championship appearances, and it was almost as though the Blues were finding their next Jude Bellingham in a way.
However, last season was not quite as successful as Hall would have hoped for. He spent the majority of the season on the sidelines suffering with an injury, and struggled to really get into the team upon his return.
If Hall can remain fit this summer, he must be in Chris Davies’ plans going into next season. The 19-year-old has proved that he is capable of stepping into the first team, but now it is time for him to really show what he is made of.
Hall is very versatile, as he can play in midfield or on the wing, so he will be crucial for the Blues next season, and could very well prevent them from spending big on a new signing. While he has previously broken into the first team, the 2024/25 campaign will be Hall’s chance to exceed expectations.
2Romelle Donovan
At just 17 years old, Romelle Donovan has already been making waves at Birmingham City, having made a number of Championship appearances last season. He also recently made his England U18s debut, where he scored in a 4-2 victory over Northern Ireland U18s.
Donovan is an incredibly talented forward, who typically plays on the right wing, so he is certainly one to watch next season in League One. If the 17-year-old does have a breakout season, he will save Birmingham a lot of money that they would otherwise have to spend on a brand-new winger.
The Blues youngster impressed at any given opportunity last season, which will give Davies something to think about going into a huge League One campaign.
3Alfie Chang
Last season could not have been any more unfortunate for Alfie Chang. The 21-year-old would likely have earned a number of starts in the Championship last season, but in the August he suffered a season-ending injury which would see him miss the entire 2023/24 campaign.
As devestating as this was for Chang, he will almost feel like a new signing next season if he can make a full recovery and get back to his talented self.
Birmingham fans have already seen what the 21-year-old is made of as he made 7 league starts in the 2022/23 Championship sesaon. Dropping into League One could do Chang the world of good as he will be able to regain match fitness in a slightly easier division.
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