Birmingham City should be in pole position for Wolves transfer | OneFootball

Tommy Doyle may not be obligated to sign for Birmingham this summer, but that shouldn't rule out a move to St Andrew's anyway

A disappointing six-game stretch leading into the March international break has meant that Birmingham City's play-off hopes are quickly fading away, and with that, their chances of signing Tommy Doyle on a permanent deal.

The 24-year-old midfielder, who came through the Manchester City academy, has a promotion to the Premier League on his CV with Sheffield United, plus over 50 top-flight appearances too. He was highly sought after in the summer, after it became apparent that Wolves were open to letting him go.

Both Sunderland and Sheffield United were credited with interest in the latter stages of last season, but it would be Birmingham who secured his signature in the summer, signing him on loan, with a £10 million buy clause that would become obligatory if the Blues secured back-to-back promotions.

But two wins in their last six games leave Chris Davies' side 10 points off a place in the top six, with just seven games to play. It's not mathematically impossible, but it's highly improbable that they'll squeeze in, and it's now said to be "inevitable" that Doyle will return to Molineux in the summer. However, how long will he be staying there?

Tommy Doyle could still be on the move from Wolves in the summer

With Birmingham's obligatory buy clause not likely to kick in at the end of this season, Doyle will be free to return to Wolves, where the expectation next season will be to immediately bounce back to the Premier League, with their eight-year stay set to end in May.

However, despite past promotions and Premier League appearances under his belt, the 24-year-old hasn't exactly done much this season to show that he should be playing a key role in a side expected to be challenging for the Championship title.

This season, Doyle has clearly been a backup option at St Andrews, initially providing cover to the impressive midfield pivot of Paik Seung-ho and Tomoki Iwata. However, when the latter was forced to deputise at right-back, where he's remained, even with injured players returning, the Wolves loanee started more games.

It was a big opportunity for him to stake a claim to be one of the starting midfielders in this ambitious Championship side, and while he was solid in the middle of the park, Birmingham went into the January transfer window still looking for an upgrade.

That came in the form of Jhon Solis, and since he made his first start against Oxford United, Doyle has been relegated to the bench again, only starting against Middlesbrough when the Girona loanee was suspended.

From a Wolves perspective, even with reports early into his dugout tenure stating that Rob Edwards was a fan of Doyle, someone who has, at times, struggled to get into a mid-table side regularly, may not be up to the task to play for one expected to win the title next year.

With better options at the club currently, which those at Molineux will be battling to keep, plus the money which will be available to upgrade the midfield if they do leave, the 24-year-old could find himself surplus to requirements this summer.

Birmingham City could revisit a permanent move for Tommy Doyle even if they don't secure promotion

If Wolves do decide that their squad has moved past Doyle, then Birmingham could easily reignite their talks and look to bring in the 24-year-old this summer, perhaps for even less than the £10 million which would have reportedly been spent if they earned promotion.

Now, there's no doubting that Birmingham will have the ambition that Wolves have, and they will see themselves as pre-season promotion challengers once more, but there's also no doubting that Rob Edwards' side currently has more quality than Chris Davies'. While Doyle may not be a useful squad player at Molineux, he could remain one at St Andrew's.

Plus, his presence would mean that more focus can be put into upgrading other positions, and there would also be one less new player brought in who would need time to acclimatise to their new surroundings, as he already knows what it's like to be at the club.

Additionally, aged just 24, there is still time and room for Doyle to grow as a player, and the Blues could see him improve with extra game time next year and return to his former Premier League heights, which he likely wouldn't receive at Wolves.

So, despite there being a slight stumbling block to a permanent deal this summer, due to perceived on-field shortcomings, Birmingham should still see themselves in with a chance of making Doyle's loan move permanent.