Birmingham City suffers stiff competition for two-time promotion winner

Birmingham City is one of the clubs monitoring George Byers’ situation at Sheffield Wednesday this summer, according to the latest reports.

The Blues’ 2023/24 campaign came to an end on a painful note. After jumping into the play-off places in October with a 3-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion in the West Midlands Derby, the former Premier League club’s season faded out dramatically.

Replacing John Eustace with Wayne Rooney proved to be one of the club’s biggest mistakes, as Birmingham plummeted down the table at breakneck speed and finished the season solidly in the relegation zone.

Unfortunately, Birmingham City did hit the 50-point level, which has historically assured Championship safety, but it wasn’t enough this time. Hull City’s failure to earn a point at Plymouth Argyle on the penultimate day of the season meant the Blues were eliminated, much to the disappointment of the St. Andrew’s supporters.

Now, work will begin off the pitch to guarantee that the squad is strong enough to return to England’s second division next season rather than languishing in League One, as many teams have done in the past.

Byers, an out-of-favour Sheffield Wednesday player, is one of the names on the club’s roster. The midfielder has achieved promotion twice in his career, once at Watford in 2014/15 and again with the Owls last season, and might help the Blues return to the Championship.

The 27-year-old was no longer in the team’s plans when Danny Rohl took over earlier in the season, thus Byers was loaned out to Blackpool for the second part of the season, where he made 16 appearances under Neil Critchley as the Seasiders barely lost out on the play-offs.

According to the Sheffield Star, Birmingham are interested in recruiting Byers this summer, after his contract expires. However, the site also reports that Bolton Wanderers, Oxford United, Rotherham United, and Huddersfield Town are also interested in signing him.

This summer, Byers will face heavy competition from sides who might be in League One next season, with one of Bolton and Oxford earning promotion to the Championship next weekend via the play-off final.

Byers will undoubtedly have numerous offers, but Birmingham City might be an excellent career choice because they have one of the greatest budgets in the division next season and could easily win the title if they get their act together this summer.