"It's a long season" - Pundit plays down Birmingham City, Lyndon Dykes fear | OneFootball

Former Birmingham City star Jermaine Pennant spoke exclusively to Football League World about Lyndon Dykes

Former Birmingham City attacker Jermaine Pennant has backed Lyndon Dykes to come good, despite a slow start to life with his old side.

The ex-QPR frontman was one of 17 players signed by Tom Wagner and Tom Brady in the summer transfer window amid a significant and ambitious upheaval of the playing squad.

With untold financial backing at their disposal, Birmingham splashed the cash across the summer ahead of their bid to not only escape the third-tier of English football at the very first time of asking this year, but indeed to return to the Premier League in the not-too-distant future.

The crown jewel of Blues' eye-catching summer window was, of course, the arrival of Jay Stansfield, who headed back to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on a permanent basis following a productive loan spell from Fulham in the previous season, signing for a League One record fee in excess of £10 million and putting pen to paper on a staggering seven-year contract.

Dykes, on the other hand, set Blues back by just £1 million according to reports, although their lavish spending has arguably made it rather easy to forget the significance of any seven-figure sum at third-tier level. The 29-year-old, who has earned 39 caps at senior international level for Scotland and counting, had seemingly become surplus to requirements at QPR, where he had been a reasonably-prolific goalscorer in the Championship for four seasons.

Regular action under Marti Cifuentes was likely to be a challenge for Dykes this season, although the going currently does not appear to be much easier in the Second City.

The 29-year-old striker has struggled to make an impact thus far, with Stansfield and fellow summer signing Alfie May, who finished as League One's top scorer last season, both enjoying strong veins of form. At the time of writing, Dykes is yet to score or assist from any of his first six league outings, just two of which have been starts, across a period of 183 minutes.

Jermaine Pennant's Lyndon Dykes, Birmingham City verdict

Ex-Blues star Pennant, who made 50 appearances for the club between 2005 and 2006 before earning a move to Liverpool in the wake of relegation from the top-flight, believes that Dykes has a role to play as the season progresses.

"It's a long season. You're going to need strength in depth, you need to rest players and you're going to need back-up players," Pennant exclusively explained to Football League World, via Safest Casino Sites.

"If you watch Lyndon Dykes, he's a goalscorer but he thrives off service. You give him that service, you put that ball in the box, he fights to get there and you look at his goals, they're all [indicative of] a fox-in-the-box kind of striker.

"So there will be times when Birmingham call upon that and are going to need that. It's still early doors, he's just joined the club so he's still getting to know everyone and the style of play.

"I'm sure when they do really need him to step up, he definitely will."

Lyndon Dykes shows Birmingham City, Chris Davies' strength in depth

Dykes' current role as an impact substitute in League One is indicative of the astronomical strength in depth that Davies can call upon.

A seasoned frontman at Championship level with vast experience on the international stage, the reality is that Dykes would likely walk into the teams of many of Birmingham's divisional counterparts with ease.

His pedigree, however, should provide yet another decisive option for Davies as the season rattles on.

Dykes offers a direct and physical presence, which could hand Blues' attack a more unique outball in contrast to the likes of Stansfield and May. He has had to bide his time thus far, but there is certainly an impact to be made at some stage of the season.