Birmingham City duo must eye escape in January - Huddersfield Town were keen on midfielder | OneFootball

FLW has looked at two players who could be better off leaving Blues in the upcoming window

Birmingham City's current squad makes for interesting reading on paper, particularly when assessing the future fortunes of many at Chris Davies' disposal.

It has been made clear by ownership group, Knighthead Capital Management, that the end goal of their rebuilding job in this part of the Second City is to return to, and eventually become a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League, having failed to return to the elite of English football since being relegated under Alex McLeish nearly 15 years ago.

Tom Wagner's millions have funded such a high-profile rebuild in many different ways, with Chris Davies receiving ample backing to shape and remould his squad in both League One and the Championship, which has included record-breaking spends at both club and divisional level.

Such exploits occurred in August 2024 when Jay Stansfield made a stunning permanent return to St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park from Fulham on a seven-year contract, with the England youth international proving an invaluable asset to the club right now.

Despite breaking several records in League One last term, it hasn't been the smoothest of returns to the second-tier for Blues, although they remain on the periphery of the play-offs at present, which is a rather satisfactory position for many newly-promoted sides.

In recent weeks, the 40-year-old appears to have rekindled a winning formula in B9, which has made it increasingly tough for those on the bench or on the sidelines to envisage a way back into the starting lineup at present.

Therefore, with the January transfer window just over a month away, Football League World has identified two players who may be looking at a temporary or permanent exit.

Scott Wright

The first, and perhaps most obvious name to feature is Scott Wright, who remains on the sidelines after sustaining an ACL issue against Reading back on February 22nd.

The Scottish winger penned a three-year deal after joining from Rangers on Deadline Day in August 2024, but has suffered two injury setbacks, despite showcasing glimpses of his ability in just 20 appearances thus far.

After scoring a dramatic debut winner against Wigan Athletic last September, Wright also produced a strong display in a 4-0 success over Shrewsbury Town in the EFL Trophy, before being sidelined at such a crucial point in Blues' record-breaking campaign.

Davies later revealed that, due to a similar injury occurring in a previous spell with Aberdeen, Birmingham would take extra caution when looking to reintegrate the 28-year-old into training and matches.

At present, Wright is omitted from Blues' 25-man squad alongside Lee Buchanan, and with 18 months left on his deal, a temporary exit should, at least, be considered in order to restore minutes and confidence into the former Scottish youth international, who would find it increasingly tough to oust the likes of Patrick Roberts from the starting lineup.

Marc Leonard

Marc Leonard was the subject of intense transfer interest from Huddersfield Town in the summer, and the 23-year-old could have one eye on a potential escape route himself this winter.

Having joined Blues from Brighton and Hove Albion for what was viewed as a £500,000 coup last summer following two stellar loan stints with Northampton Town, the former Hearts man failed to pin down a starting spot due to the brilliance of Seung-ho Paik and Tomoki Iwata.

However, those on the terraces could clearly see the ability at Leonard's feet, with many believing he is far too good of a player to be warming up a spot on Davies' substitutes' bench.

Alternatively, this also makes him a strong substitute option for the 40-year-old, but not one which would overly please the player, who has been in and out of his plans across the opening three months of the season, albeit he has still performed to a relatively strong level when called upon.

Granted, it could take a fair sum to lure him away from St. Andrew's on a permanent basis now, particularly depending on the recent injury sustained by an injury to his midfield colleague, Seung-ho Paik.