Birmingham City have been tipped to be active players in the summer transfer window after winning promotion to the ChampionshipThis article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Pundit Jobi McAnuff
Birmingham City will be able to attract the best players in the Championship after ‘walking’ the League One title.
That’s according to EFL pundit Jobi McAnuff, who has predicted Blues will be competitive both on the field and off it – and claimed the size of the club will have a similar pull-factor to that Leeds United will experience after stepping back up to the top flight.
McAnuff, who played more than 750 games for the likes of Crystal Palace, Watford and Reading during his career, has noted the turnaround at the club since Knighthead took control, and compared it to the situation at another of his former employers.
Looking ahead to the summer transfer window he told the BBC’s 72+ EFL podcast : “They’re going to go as big as they probably are allowed to go, I would say. You only have to look at what they’ve done.
“[It’s] completely opposite to Cardiff City, when I went to Birmingham before they took over, it was a sad state of affairs.
“The stadium was run down, like a horrible place to go, no love, and the first thing they did is come in, they’ve re-energized, yes, they’ve spent money, but they’ve spent it really well.
“They’ve got people wanting to come back to their football club to buy into it, support the team, and they’ve given the managers the tools to do what they’ve done, and yes, they should get promoted with what they’ve spent, but they’ve absolutely walked it.
“I think what you’ll see is again an evolution of the squad, I think as Birmingham City in the Championship, they can go and attract all the top players that want to play at that level.
“It’s like Leeds United going back up to the Premier League just because of the stature of the football club, the size of it, they will be in for the top, top players for that level, and I can see them going up and being really competitive next year with a top young coach as well.”
How many players do Blues need to recruit? Have your say here
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