{"id":372237,"date":"2025-08-25T11:55:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T11:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/372237\/"},"modified":"2025-08-25T11:55:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T11:55:19","slug":"birmingham-city-star-rises-to-kanya-fujimoto-challenge-in-crucial-transfer-period","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/372237\/","title":{"rendered":"Birmingham City star rises to Kanya Fujimoto challenge in crucial transfer period"},"content":{"rendered":"

Birmingham City playmaker Willum Willumsson made his first start of the Championship season against Oxford United\"Alex<\/p>\n

Birmingham City reporter for BirminghamLive and the Birmingham Mail<\/p>\n

\"WillumRole to play… Willum Willumsson<\/p>\n

There was a theory inside Birmingham City\u2019s<\/a> camp last season that Willum Willumsson<\/a> might actually be better suited to the Championship than League One.<\/p>\n

Some people dismissed it, and it must be said that three games into the Championship season we can\u2019t categorically say Willumsson has proven that theory to be correct.<\/p>\n

But he has started to show that he can operate comfortably at this level.<\/p>\n

Willumsson ended last season out-of-form but still in favour under Chris Davies<\/a>, who refused to drop the Iceland international even when his level was below those around him.<\/p>\n

Davies clearly felt it was important Willumsson was given the chance to play his way into form and flogged him in the final few weeks of the season.<\/p>\n

Maybe that was intentional too. Willumsson let slip on more than one occasion that the grind of the EFL season had been a shock to his system, compared to the less demanding, less physical Dutch Eredivisie where he played previously.<\/p>\n

Stepping up to the Championship was never going to lighten the load. Blues will play a minimum of 50 games this season, and it could be a fair few more.<\/p>\n

But the quality of opposition has increased significantly and Willumsson will have chances to show his talent and technique, which is what we\u2019ve seen in the first two weeks of the season.<\/p>\n

Having been an unused substitute on the opening night against Ipswich, Willumsson reminded everyone of his ability with the assist for Jay Stansfield\u2019s winner against Sheffield United in the Carabao Cup.<\/p>\n

Then he made an impact as a substitute in the dramatic turnaround at Blackburn, before Davies started him against Oxford \u2013 a team who were expected to give Blues plenty of possession and play on the counter-attack.<\/p>\n

Starting Willumsson made sense. He played on the right, drifting into a number 10 position when Blues were in possession, and his 6ft 4in frame proved useful on set pieces.<\/p>\n

He showed his eye for a defence-splitting pass with a ball to set Kyogo Furuhashi away for a move that really should have resulted in a goal.<\/p>\n

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This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more<\/a>\"Content<\/p>\n

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Sky<\/p>\n

Get Sky Sports here<\/a><\/p>\n

Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports<\/a> bundle for the 2025\/26 season, saving members \u00a3192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.<\/p>\n

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Willumsson completed the 90 minutes against Oxford but there are no guarantees he will get another start at Leicester City in the next Championship match on Friday (8pm kick-off). Davies could quite easily opt for the athleticism and work-rate of Keshi Anderson in a game where Blues won\u2019t have total monopoly of the ball.<\/p>\n

Willumsson has, however, proved there is space for him in Blues\u2019 Championship squad, and that wasn\u2019t a given when the bodies piled in last month.<\/p>\n

Kanya Fujimoto possesses a similar profile to Willumsson and was signed to occupy the same spaces. Willumsson has taken his chance with the Japanese playmaker an unused substitute in Blues\u2019 last three matches.<\/p>\n

Tommy Doyle and Lewis Koumas have also arrived to stock up Blues\u2019 options in those positions meaning it won\u2019t be easy for Willumsson to hold down a regular spot \u2013 but that isn\u2019t what Davies would want anyway.<\/p>\n

In a squad that is designed to compete near the top of the Championship, Willumsson is an option, not an undroppable. Due to the inconsistencies we saw last season, that is probably the best way to use him.<\/p>\n

Are you glad there seems to be a role for Willumsson? Let us know your thoughts HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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BirminghamLive has its very own Birmingham City<\/a> WhatsApp community to deliver the latest headlines straight to your phone. Just click this link<\/a> to receive daily Blues content and breaking news. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out any time you like. Click on the name at the top of your screen while in WhatsApp and click ‘Exit Group’. Read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Birmingham City playmaker Willum Willumsson made his first start of the Championship season against Oxford United Birmingham City…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372238,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,1205,748,393,4884,16,15,22284],"class_list":{"0":"post-372237","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-birmingham-city-fc","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-willum-willumsson"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115089278565478643","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372237\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}