What Birmingham City's wage bill is in 2026 as high-profile exits tipped | OneFootball

We look at Birmingham City's current wage bill as FLW's Blues fan pundit tips Marvin Ducksch and Kyogo to be among the summer exits at the club.

It is fair to say it has been an underwhelming first season back in the Championship for Birmingham City.

After Birmingham stormed to the League One title last season with an EFL record total of 111 points, owner Tom Wagner made it clear the club were aiming for back-to-back promotions ahead of their return to the Championship.

It initially looked as though the Blues would be among the promotion contenders after a promising start to the season, but inconsistency stalled their play-off challenge, and they are set for a mid-table finish after a disappointing second half of the campaign.

Having failed to live up to Wagner's high expectations, it remains to be seen whether manager Chris Davies will be allowed to continue in his role next season, but regardless of who is in charge, it seems certain that there will be plenty of changes to the squad this summer.

Birmingham City told to sell Marvin Ducksch and Kyogo this summer

Among those who are facing uncertain futures at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park this summer are forwards Marvin Ducksch and Kyogo Furuhashi.

Ducksch joined Birmingham from German side Werder Bremen in the summer for a fee of around £1.75 million, and he has scored 11 goals and provided two assists in 35 appearances during a solid debut season at the club.

However, Ducksch made the headlines for all the wrong reasons this week after he was charged with drink-driving following a car crash, and while the matter has been dealt with internally, FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit Jason Moore urged the club to sell the 32-year-old after the incident.

"My immediate thoughts are he’s an absolute idiot, there’s absolutely no excuses for it," Jason told FLW.

"No one at all should be drink-driving, anyone with a brain knows the dangers of it.

"But he’s a professional footballer, what on earth is he doing?

"So, I’m on board with the reaction I’ve seen from most Blues fans, it looks highly likely he was going anyway, but now he’s just fully cemented that. Get gone."

While Ducksch has delivered on the pitch for the Blues this season, the same cannot be said for fellow summer signing Kyogo, who became the club's marquee signing when he joined from French outfit Rennes in a deal worth up to £10 million.

Despite his hefty price tag, Kyogo scored just three goals in 31 appearances for Birmingham before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury last month, and Jason believes the Japan international should follow Ducksch out of the exit door this summer.

"I don’t see any way back, just cut your losses, get him off the wage book, try to recuperate some of the fee we paid for him, whatever it was," Jason said.

"Just do your best and get him off the books, and just go and get someone who is young and hungry, for me."

Birmingham City's current wage bill amid Marvin Ducksch and Kyogo exit talk

Should Birmingham look to sell Ducksch and Kyogo this summer, that would remove two of the club's higher-profile players from their wage bill.

According to Capology, the Blues currently have a weekly wage bill of £441,000 and an annual wage bill of £22,932,000, although it should be stressed that those figures are estimates.

Winger Carlos Vicente, who made the move to Birmingham from Spanish side Alaves for an initial fee of £7 million, is the club's highest-paid player, with the Spaniard said to take home a staggering £50,000-a-week, but Kyogo is second on the list at £35,000-a-week.

Kai Wagner, Patrick Roberts and Demarai Gray are among the Blues' biggest earners, with the trio all receiving £30,000-a-week, while Christoph Klarer and Ducksch (both £25,000-a-week) and Ryan Allsop and Bright Osayi-Samuel (both £20,000-a-week) are also on substantial salaries.

If Ducksch and Kyogo were to depart this summer, Birmingham would make a significant saving of a combined £60,000-a-week on their wages, and there is likely to be no shortage of interest in the pair if they were to be made available.

The transfer window may not be open just yet, but Ducksch is reportedly on the radar of Real Sociedad ahead of the summer, while Kyogo was linked with a return to former club Celtic in January, and, at this stage, it seems both could be on the way out of St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park over the coming months.