How much money Birmingham City would free up in wages amid Chris Davies, Lyndon Dykes transfer admission | OneFootball

Lyndon Dykes' future at St. Andrew's has been a hot topic of discussion

Birmingham City are facing up to what could be the most decisive transfer window under the ownership of Knighthead Capital Management so far.

Chris Davies has received considerable backing from Tom Wagner and Co. in the boardroom at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park as the American investment group hope to end a lengthy exile from the Premier League in the near future.

Such ambitions have certainly been realised both on and off the pitch, with plans for the new 62,000-seater 'Powerhouse' stadium gaining worldwide attention, as the owners hope to utilise the club's ambitious future as a continued tool when it comes to attracting a high standard of player in the transfer market.

That has certainly been the case ever since Davies' appointment as Blues boss was confirmed in June 2024 after the club were relegated to League One for the first time in 30 years, with the West Midlands side breaking a whole manner of records as they romped to the title at a 19-point canter ahead of Wrexham, whose ambitions have also seen record levels of spending be achieved under the stewardship of Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac.

After achieving 111 points during a season in which the club's and League One's transfer record was shattered by the eight-figure acquisition of Jay Stansfield from Fulham, another sizeable fee was parted with to secure Kyogo Furuhashi's services from Stade Rennais in July, whilst former German international, Marvin Ducksch, added even more of a presence to Davies' forward line with a £1.75m switch from Werder Bremen.

As such, the aforementioned trio's involvement has only continued to raise question marks over Lyndon Dykes' future, especially with the 48-time international's hopes of representing Scotland at the FIFA World Cup 2026 recently being in the spotlight.

Davies has since responded to those hopes by admitting that Blues would not stand in the striker's way if a departure was the right course of action. With that in mind, FLW have looked at the wage costs that could be freed up if Dykes were to leave Birmingham.

Dykes has divided opinion amongst Bluenoses ever since he arrived in the Second City for £1m from Queens Park Rangers in late August 2024.

The Australian-born Tartan Army forward has become a household name in the EFL, largely down to his exploits at Loftus Road, where he netted 37 goals and posted 12 assists across 165 appearances.

As Blues regained their Championship status at the first time of asking, Dykes offered Davies differing attributes in comparison to those of Stansfield and Alfie May, who scored 35 goals between them in the league last term.

To his credit, Dykes has been the scorer of some pivotal goals for Birmingham despite receiving limited minutes in comparison to the plethora of attacking colleagues he has worked alongside in such a short period of time.

They included late winners against Blackburn Rovers and Swansea City in the early weeks of the season, just after a potential transfer switch to either of Preston North End and Hibernian failed to materialise.

Last week, when reacting to the World Cup draw, which pitted Scotland against Brazil, Morocco and Haiti, Dykes was asked about his current situation at St. Andrew's amid potential exit talk.

“I want to be playing games consistently, as much as I can. We're doing really well here at Birmingham and it's been a tough season with the limited game time that I've got," he said.

“We'll see what happens. There's still a few months until we can start thinking about international football or the World Cup but at the end of the day I do want to be playing, I want to be as fit as I can be going into these games.

In response, Davies has since stated: “I talk to Lyndon a lot. He wants more game-time.

“Since he’s been here, he’s such a good impact player for us. He comes on, he’s scored two winning goals.

“Due to the decisions I’ve made he’s not had the game-time he would want but I still value and trust him - that’s the other side of it," said the Blues boss.

“He knows that. I’ve told him that.

“And if it comes to a stage where there’s not enough game-time for him and everyone’s in agreement that it’s best for him to move on, then we will work with him.

“But as we stand here today, I see Lyndon as an important, valued member of the squad," Davies reiterated.

How much Birmingham City would free up in wages amid potential Lyndon Dykes departure

When moving to Birmingham from West London, the former Livingston hotshot agreed terms on a three-year contract, which would currently see him depart the club in the summer of 2027 if no transfer movements were made.

That, of course, does not appear to be the case, with Dykes' future often a hot topic of discussion in the stands at St. Andrew's despite his cult hero status as a result of a handful of late winners.

According to Capology, the centre-forward is the joint-sixth-highest earner on Wagner's payroll, meaning a potential January departure could free up an ESTIMATED base salary of £15,000 per week, which is said to be the same figure collected by Brighton and Hove Albion loanee, Eiran Cashin, and South Korean midfield maestro, Paik Seung-ho.

Dykes is also believed to earn £20,000 per week less than his strike partner, Kyogo, who has been the source of mass frustration since his high-profile summer switch despite being the club's reported top earner.

According to figures from the aforementioned site, a departure for the 30-year-old would also reduce Blues' weekly wage bill to a cost of £367,500, which would see them dip below the ESTIMATED weekly bill paid out by Watford's owners, the Pozzo family.