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Lewis Koumas joined Championship side Birmingham City on loan for the remainder of the 2025-26 season last summer. The Liverpool forward returned to England’s second tier after making 43 appearances for Stoke City in the previous campaign.

A senior Wales international, Koumas has been with Liverpool since joining the Academy from Tranmere Rovers as an U11 player. He made his first-team debut in an FA Cup tie against Southampton in February 2024, scoring the opening goal in a 3-0 win, just days after being on the bench for Liverpool’s Carabao Cup final triumph over Chelsea at Wembley.

Koumas signed a new Liverpool contract last summer before moving out on loan. Liverpool and Birmingham City have now agreed to extend the recall window for Koumas.

The Reds were initially required to decide by January 15 whether to bring the Wales international back, but the new agreement allows more flexibility.

The 20-year-old initially struggled for starts at St Andrew’s, but an injury to Demarai Gray has given him a run in the team, prompting the extension of the recall window.

“We have extended that (loan recall window),” Birmingham boss Chris Davies confirmed to BirminghamLive. “He’s playing and doing well. We’ve had discussions with Liverpool and everyone is happy right now.

“He’s with us and an important player. He’s enjoying his football right now. “We want to make sure Lewis is happy. From the club side, Liverpool and everyone is on the same page.

“Right now, as we speak, he has just been in the team for two games in a row, got a goal and done well, I think all parties see it as let’s let him focus on the next few matches and see where it goes from there.”

Koumas netted his first goal for Birmingham earlier this month in a 3-2 win over league leaders Coventry City and also impressed in their FA Cup tie against Cambridge United.

On Koumas’s improved form, Davies added: “Pretty much every player is a confidence player but you don’t hear them say it. Lewis is very honest and he’s a nice personality. He’s been really limited in game time through my decisions. I’ve gone for someone else in his position.

“He had a little run previously when we played Swansea, he played the home game and had a good performance, and he’s been chomping at the bit to play.

“But he’s been training and getting on with it. He got his chance and scored in a massive game at home. You only need a moment to ignite and change your time at a club and hopefully that’s it for him.

“I was really keen to get him in for his speed. I think he’d rank as one of or if not our quickest player, and he’s got that intensity. He makes a lot of forward runs and I like how he presses.

“There’s a good player in there, definitely, and we want to make sure that he is getting what he needs and that everyone is happy and, at the moment, everyone is, so we keep going.”

The Wales international is expected to feature in at least the next two Championship matches against Swansea City and Sheffield Wednesday, with the January 24 clash against Stoke City also a possibility, before a final decision on his recall is made.

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