Birmingham City makes three permanent transfers this summer

Alex Dicken rates the futures of Birmingham City’s five loan players.

They advise against falling in love with a loan player. When it comes to Birmingham City’s leading scorer, Jay Stansfield, fans have ignored that caution.

Stansfield, like Auston Trusty and Dion Sanderson before him, has established himself as a fan favourite during a season-long loan stay. Stansfield has nine goals in 33 games across all competitions, putting him on track to score the most goals by a Blues player since Lukas Jutkiewicz in 2019/20.

The Blues fought out a dozen Championship clubs to recruit Stansfield in the summer, and they held off Ipswich Town in January. However, not all of the Blues’ loanees this season have been as successful.

In addition to Stansfield, the Blues have Cody Drameh, Emanuel Aiwu, Oliver Burke, and Andre Dozzell, who signed on a temporary basis from Queens Park Rangers in January. Blues reporter Alex Dicken assessed each agreement.

Bielik situation and the Crystal Palace scouting mission in Alex Dicken’s Blues notebook.

Tony Mowbray has given Birmingham City interim Mark Venus an excellent endorsement.

Stansfield made an impressive start for the Blues, blasting the ball past Plymouth goalkeeper Conor Hazard to seal a last-gasp victory. His performance has barely fallen since that day in August.

Wayne Rooney benched him at Southampton, prompting an appropriate reaction from Stansfield, who scored as a substitute, and Tony Mowbray rested him against Sheffield Wednesday, but the 21-year-old has generally been a constant in the Blues’ starting lineup. Whether Stansfield plays centre-forward, in his preferred number 10 position, or out wide, he is one of the first names on the roster.

Mowbray was overjoyed to inherit him after being one of several Championship managers Stansfield turned down in the summer, and he even suggested that the Blues sign him permanently during a recent press conference.

Mowbray stated: “I believe we should absolutely be looking for (Stansfield) if there is a number where he could come and play here. I believe he enjoys it that much.

Stansfield is under contract with Fulham until 2027, and those in charge at Craven Cottage clearly value him. It would cost a lot of money to sign him permanently, possibly a record-breaking deal for the Blues, but he would be worth every penny.

There is opportunity for Stansfield’s worth to skyrocket, and this is the type of market Blues must operate in if they are to reach the Premier League.

Cody Drameh (on loan from Leeds United)

The 8/10 rating seemed accurate for Drameh, who has been one of the Blues’ most consistent performers throughout a turbulent season under three different managers. Drameh has made 22 Blues appearances and has recently reclaimed his starting spot from Lee Buchanan.

Drameh has also contributed four assists, demonstrating his offensive prowess in addition to his trustworthy defensive status. BirminghamLive understands the Blues have the option to sign Drameh permanently from Leeds, but with the 22-year-old set to become a free agent in July, it is mostly up to him whether he stays at St Andrew’s.

When asked about his future recently, Drameh gave a straightforward, media-trained response. He stated, “I’m just taking it game by game, focusing on the here and now, and trying to help the team with the situation we’re in.” “Game by game, day by day.”

It goes without saying that the Blues should aim to sign Drameh permanently. Finally, he must be assured that he will receive adequate pitching time, which he will based on this season’s performance.

Emanuel Aiwu (on loan from Cremonese)

Aiwu has played 16 games and 1,200 minutes, which seems like enough time to form an informed conclusion. How many of those games were completed without error? He performed admirably in his full debut against Southampton, and he was also effective as an auxiliary right-back in the Blues’ 1-0 victory over Cardiff in December.

The Austrian played well in the first half of the Blues’ FA Cup loss to Leicester last month before losing his place after being asked to switch to right-back for the second half. However, his performances are frequently marred by errors.

Aiwu, who has just turned 23, has time on his side and a body suitable to Championship football, but it is impossible to say whether the Blues should exercise their option to buy him permanently from Cremonese, which is said to be worth roughly €3 million (£2.5 million). Even though Kevin Long is poised to leave the Blues for Toronto, Aiwu remains fourth in line to play at centre-back after Krystian Bielik, Dion Sanderson, and Marc Roberts.

Oliver Burke (on loan from Werder Bremen)

Burke, a late summer signing, has tried to mislead in a Blues jersey. We’ve seen glimpses of the speed that made him sought in his childhood, prompting RB Leipzig and West Brom to pay a combined £28 million to get him, but he hasn’t wowed consistently.

Burke has an average of 68.9 percent pass completion and 0.4 crucial passes in 20 Championship games this season. According to WhoScored, Burke is dispossessed 0.5 times each game and let down by heavy touch 0.7 times every 90 minutes.

Given Burke’s lack of a goal or assist for the Blues and his absence from squads since the end of January, it’s impossible to imagine him playing between now and May. It’s best that Blues and Burke go their separate ways this summer.