The latest Birmingham City notebook features Alfie Chang, behind-the-scenes appointments and the club’s pre-season in Portugal
Birmingham City will play Sevilla at Estadio Algarve in a pre-season friendly
Alfie Chang is among those who boarded Birmingham City’s plane to Portugal on Monday.
Blues have jetted out to the Algarve for a seven-day training camp as pre-season ramps up for Chris Davies and his troops.
The squad encountered a series of issues when trying to fly to Austria for a camp this time last year but there were no such problems with their chartered flight this time around and the players checked into their hotel yesterday evening.
They are staying at a plush resort in Albufeira and will take on Spanish side Sevilla in a friendly at the Estadio Algarve on Saturday evening.
Chang spent the second half of last season on loan at Walsall after 17 months out with a serious knee injury and is part of the travelling party.
The 22-year-old started six straight games for Walsall at the end of last season and was part of the side that lost to AFC Wimbledon in the League Two play-off final at Wembley.
Blues have a bunch of midfield options in Paik Seung-ho, Tomoki Iwata, Marc Leonard, Taylor Gardner-Hickman and new signing Tommy Doyle, but Chang is being given the chance to impress Davies in Portugal.
The club haven’t released a full tour squad but Zaid Betteka, the 18-year-old forward who made his debut in the FA Cup tie against Lincoln in January, is believed to have made the trip.
Betteka is one of a few youngsters being afforded the opportunity to train with the first team this summer due to what is currently a bloated squad.
Davies took a clutch of teenagers to Austria last year but Blues have a much more experienced group this time around.
Two more off-field appointments
Blues have been bolstering their behind-the-scenes staff since Knighthead pitched up in 2023 and another wave of recruits have arrived during the summer.
As reported recently, former Leicester City groundsman Chris Long has joined Blues as head grounds manager and the club have revealed two more appointments.
Rich Carpenter has joined as director of operations after holding a similar position at Ipswich Town. He will be responsible for operational management at St Andrew’s and the club’s two training facilities.
Nick Venables is the club’s new head of venue management and, according to the club, he will ‘help elevate our operations, guest experience, and commercial potential’. Both Long and Venables will report into Carpenter.
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Marc Leonard has a point to prove
Doyle’s arrival is bad news for Marc Leonard. It puts another body between him and a starting place and all but confirms that he needs to move on for regular minutes.
Leonard would need an outstanding pre-season to turn things around before August 8 and convince Davies to hand him a prominent role this campaign.
A loan move would be more favourable than a permanent exit for 23-year-old Leonard.
Next up: Sevilla
Blues begin their pre-season campaign in Portugal with a match against La Liga side Sevilla on Saturday night at the Estadio Algarve (8pm).
Sevilla will pose a stern test for Davies’ side and boast some top-level international players.
France star Loïc Badé has been linked with big money transfers in recent windows but remains with the Andalusian side.
Sevilla are seven-time Europa League winners but this side only finished 17th in La Liga last term.
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