Exclusive: Emile Heskey discusses latest Championship news involving Birmingham City, Leicester City, Ipswich Town & West Brom | OneFootball

Emile Heskey spoke exclusively to FLW to discuss the latest ongoing news in the second tier.

Football League World had the privilege of speaking to former Leicester City, Birmingham City and England international striker Emile Heskey about the upcoming 2025-26 Championship season.

Heskey holds deep connections to both Blues and the Foxes during his playing days, who will both be battling it out in the upcoming second tier campaign.

There’s plenty of excitement building already as to how the relegated trio of Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester will fare, while the likes of Birmingham City and Wrexham will be hoping they can make a name for themselves on their returns from League One.

Speaking to Football League World via Poker Scout, Heskey discussed some of the big talking points in the Championship.

Birmingham City have been linked with a move for Aston Villa’s Louie Barry. How big of an impact do you think he could have with the club stepping into the Championship?

“He’s coming of age, isn’t he? He’s been a wonderkid and shown what he can do, but now is a step to really establish himself as a first-team regular in the Championship, which is probably the fifth or sixth-best league in the world.

“I think it’s great to see that he’s performing that way to then have the likes of Birmingham looking at him, because we’ve seen so many wonderkids fall off, but he seems to be taking the right steps, and this could be a massive step for him to start establishing himself.

“I followed him for years when he was playing for the England youths, so there’s no reason why he can’t start having aspirations of the (England) first team.”

Birmingham have also been linked with Peterborough United’s Kwaeme Poku. How do you value Blues’ chances of signing him with the likes of Sunderland and Sheffield United in the mix?

“With Birmingham’s aspirations and their blueprint, it’s hard for players to turn that down. A lot of players go off asking ‘what does the future hold for the club and what are their plans’ and Birmingham is a very bold plan, so it’s hard for players to turn that down. If it does come to fruition, then they can say ‘I was part of that’, which is great and that’s what everyone wants.

“They’re probably sitting at the forefront, Sunderland have gone into the Premier League, got a bit of money to spend, so it’ll be an interesting one.”

Birmingham have got strong financial resources under Tom Wagner. Where do you see the club finishing come the end of next season? Could back-to-back promotions be a realistic aim?

“They’ve got a wonderful manager. I’ve seen little bits of him at Leicester when he was working under Brendan Rodgers.

“Back-to-back promotions is very tough. Of course, they will have aspirations to do that. For me, they’re ahead of their schedule, and I think in the next five years they’ll be looking to be in the Premier League and establishing themselves and staying in there, pretty much like what Brentford and Brighton have done, something along those lines where you’re staying there.”

Harry Darling’s future remains up in the air at Swansea City and Birmingham are in the hunt for his signature. How important could a player of his experience be after establishing himself as a regular in the Swans’ setup?

“He’s got that Championship pedigree and that’s what you need. It’s very difficult at times when your owners or CEO trying to put a squad together. You really want to give the opportunity to the lads that got you there, but there’s levels that you need to step up and to be competitive, and you soon find that out very quickly.

“They’ll find out who can cut it in the Championship and who can’t, and what they need to do to take that next step, but it would be a great step for Darling as he’s got pedigree in the Championship who understands the Championship’s needs.

“The Championship is a very fast and relentless league. I played in it with Bolton, and it’s non-stop, so you need robust figures and players.”

West Brom have appointed Ryan Mason as their new head coach on a three-year contract, do you think he’ll attempt to lure some of Tottenham’s youngsters away and if so, who should he target?

“It would be silly for him not to. One that jumps out is Dane Scarlett. Somebody like that would be fantastic because you’re getting a player who really should be playing first-team football and getting a player who’s hungry because he’s playing for the England U21s.

“You’re getting a player who, throughout his progression, has scored goals, so you’re getting someone who knows where the net is, which is fantastic for that level of team.

“West Brom is a funny team, as they used to be a team who yo-yo’s between the Premier League and the Championship, always ended up getting back up, staying up for a bit, then coming down but always knowing they were going to come back up at some point.

“They need to establish themselves again, and they’ve got a young manager, so it’ll be interesting to see what he can get out of the squad and then what he can bring in.

"He has got to establish what he has right now and then see where he can plug the gaps because he’s got good pedigree from the Spurs' youth setup.”

Going into his first full-time managerial role, how big of a gamble are West Brom taking by bringing in Ryan Mason?

“There’s huge expectations, but with football and management, we all say we want experience, but how do you get experience? You’ve got to give him an opportunity.

“It’s his huge opportunity to now showcase, not just on an interim basis, but on a full-time basis when you’re building towards something every day, every week, every month, every year, hopefully, that he can establish a team that can get back to the Premier League.

“What’s going to be interesting is the style of play he wants, and will it match what the fans want, and they’re very vocal down at West Brom for sure.”

Leicester City have recently been linked with a move for former Hull City boss Liam Rosenior. Impressing over in France with Strasbourg, do you think he could be tempted to take over at the King Power Stadium?

“Leicester have got one of the best training facilities in the country. They have a fantastic stadium and good support, which are three things that are essential to them, so when Leicester come in, it will turn people’s heads.

“Whether it’s the right thing for Liam right now, I don’t know. He did really well at Hull, is on a fantastic trajectory at Strasbourg, and I’m sure Strasbourg is connected to Chelsea as well, so you will have all these things going on in your mind as a manager.

"But if Leicester comes in, then he will have to sit down, talk to them, and I’m sure he’ll be blown away by some of the stuff they have, but then it’s about whether everything fits that he wants.”

Finally, Ipswich Town are set to lose Liam Delap to Chelsea this summer and have been linked with a move for former Middlesbrough striker Emmanuel Latte Lath. Is he an effective enough replacement and will his goals be enough to bring about an immediate return to the Premier League?

“That’s a tough one because Liam Delap has done fantastic by coming through Derby and then Man City, so that generation of players, we’ve seen a lot of them like Morgan Rogers at Aston Villa, so these are all coming through and showing their worth.

“It’s difficult to say whether he (Latte Lath) will match what Delap has done, but it’s in the Championship, so it’s a little bit different.

“You pin your hopes on that with the way Ipswich play, if you present chances, and they do, then the striker will score.”