Birmingham City are the favourites for promotion from League One this summer having embarked on an incredible spending spree under Chris Davies.
The Blues endured a nightmare campaign last season.
It all started so well under John Eustace but the decision to axe him for Wayne Rooney really backfired.
Rooney didn’t last long and was replaced by Tony Mowbray, but his time in charge was sadly cut short due to health issues, leaving Gary Rowett to take charge for the final stages.
Rowett couldn’t help Birmingham up and a turbulent season ended with relegation to League One.
Chris Davies has been lured from Tottenham Hotspur to lead Birmingham forward and he has been backed with a quite remarkable spending spree.
Darragh MacAnthony on Birmingham City
Birmingham have brought in a raft of impressive signings, headlined by the likes of Alfie May, Alex Cochrane, Willum Thor Willumsson and Marc Leonard.
The Blues have even dipped into the Japanese market to sign Ayumu Yokohama from Sagan Tosu.
11 signings have been made this summer and Birmingham are everybody’s tip to win the League One title after an incredible spending spree.
Few League One sides can even come close to competing with the money Birmingham have spent but the season opened with a 1-1 draw against Reading.
Davies picked up his first league win on Saturday, beating Wycombe Wanderers 3-2 whilst having 74% of possession.
It may take time to really click but Birmingham have the quality to storm the league – and Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has offered his view on their spending.
Speaking on his podcast The Hard Truth, MacAnthony admitted that he has ‘no problem’ with the way Birmingham have spent money.
MacAnthony feels that Birmingham simply have to go for it in order to get promoted this season and there is no point in League One clubs moaning about it.
McAnthony added that he thinks Birmingham aren’t even finished yet, suggesting that more spending is coming soon enough.
“I’ve no problem with what Birmingham have done,” said MacAnthony. “If I was the size of that club coming down, we’d spent a long time in the Championship and we had that one year where we weren’t restricted with the cap, and we had that bit of time, I’d be like ‘we’re all in, we have to do this now, we might not be able to do this in year two’.
“What’s the point in moaning about it? It is what it is, so I’ve no problem with what Birmingham have done and they’re not finished yet,” he added.
Birmingham have one big signing in mind
League One fans may be wondering just what Birmingham even need to spend on at this point.
The Blues do appear to have one major target in mind though – Jay Stansfield.
The England Under-21 international spent last season on loan at Birmingham and bagged 12 goals in 43 Championship outings.
Now back with Fulham, Stansfield is actually a permanent target for Birmingham.
The Mirror claim that Birmingham want to re-sign Stansfield and have already failed with one bid.
Fulham boss Marco Silva wants to keep Stansfield and he actually came off the bench against Manchester United on Friday.
Dropping from the Premier League to League One would be a remarkable move for Stansfield but Birmingham will hope to sway him into becoming the record League One signing.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
