Birmingham City should target move for Celtic player not fancied by Brendan Rodgers | OneFootball

Injuries have disrupted Auston Trusty's campaign so far at Celtic, and the Blues could look to get him back on track in January.

After a dominant League One campaign where Birmingham City conceded just 31 times in 46 games, Chris Davies' side has struggled defensively through the opening stages of their Championship return.

After 10 games, the Blues have shipped 14 goals, including three to Coventry City and Hull City recently.

Last season, Birmingham conceded three times on just two occasions in league action, and now they've matched that in just a few months of the current campaign, which is currently not panning out to be the Premier League promotion push many thought it would be at St Andrew's.

The defence was shaken up this summer, with Ben Davies not returning from his impressive loan spell and club captain Krystian Bielik moving on too, but unfortunately, their replacements haven't impressed, and Christoph Klarer, who was dominant in the third tier, hasn't shown them performance levels in the Championship.

Chris Davies has seemingly shown a preference towards left-footed centre-backs, but neither Jack Robinson nor Eiran Cashin has excelled so far, and the Blues may need to think about dipping into the centre-back market once more in January for some reinforcements.

And if they do, a certain American international who performed admirably whilst on loan at St Andrew's a few years ago could be atop their wishlist.

Auston Trusty's debut 2024/25 campaign with Celtic after arriving for £5 million from Sheffield United in last year's summer transfer window was impressive, starting nine out of Celtic's 10 Champions League games, as well as a further 22 in the Scottish Premiership.

The 27-year-old was already in competition with Liam Scales for his position, but an injury-troubled campaign so far this year has seen him perhaps fall a little further behind the Irishman in the pecking order.

A heel injury and a plantar fascia tear have meant that Trusty has made just four appearances in all competitions so far this season, and has just two league appearances culminating in no starts and just 48 minutes of football so far this term.

When he eventually returns to full fitness, it'll be intriguing to see whether Brendan Rodgers introduces him back to the starting lineup at Celtic Park.

This season's a big one for Trusty, who is eager to get into the USMNT ahead of the World Cup next summer in his homeland. To do so, the four-time USMNT international will need to be playing regularly, and if Celtic can't offer that in the second half of the campaign, the 27-year-old may be forced to explore other options.

Birmingham have shown that they can be ambitious in the transfer market, so targeting someone who played the majority of games in the heart of the Celtic backline last season wouldn't be out of the question.

And given Trusty's history with the Blues, starting in all but two of their Championship games in the 2022/23 campaign whilst on loan from Premier League giants Arsenal, he may prefer to return to a club he knows and can really hit the ground running with.

Auston Trusty would fix Chris Davies' current defensive problems

As seen so far this season, Chris Davies likes to operate with a left-footer in his centre-back pairing, and after Robinson's sub-par start to life at St Andrew's and Cashin's underwhelming performances, the Birmingham boss may be looking at another left-footed central defender this January.

Trusty provides that left-footed option, and you'd imagine that he'd slot straight into the Blues backline, especially if Robinson's poor form continues into the winter.

With current Championship talent in the USMNT currently in the form of Coventry's Haji Wright, Middlesbrough's Aidan Morris, Norwich's Josh Sargent and Derby's Patrick Agyemang respectively, and with Brenden Aaronson picking up caps whilst in the second tier last season at Leeds United, Mauricio Pochettino has shown that he can look to a lesser division for his national team selection.

Therefore, Trusty wouldn't see a move to Birmingham as the end of his hopes of making the World Cup, and he'd feel inclined to make a real impact at St Andrew's for his own personal gain.

If that then helps the Blues put together a strong defensive run of form throughout the second half of the campaign and push up the table towards the top six, then it's a win-win for both parties.