5 Marvin Ducksch upgrades Birmingham City must eye ft Ipswich Town and Brentford stars | OneFootball

The German has had very little impact for Blues this season after failing to secure a summer exit

Marvin Ducksch's immediate future looks to be away from Birmingham City at this moment in time, despite the fact the German is still a part of Chris Davies' 25-man squad.

The 32-year-old signed from Werder Bremen last August in a £1.75m deal, and after a slow start to life at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, netted 11 goals in all competitions.

However, those exploits don't exactly paint the full picture as Ducksch has split opinions in recent times, largely due to the significant fine and driving ban he was slapped with by the authorities after a three-way collision in April, as well as being the subject of intense transfer speculation throughout the summer window, during which he expressed his desire over a potential return to his native Germany.

He has since played just 48 minutes of Championship football this season, with all four of his appearances coming as a substitute, and with that in mind, Football League World have looked at five potential upgrades Chris Davies could source if the two-time international does make a swift exit.

Anis Mehmeti

Action Images

The first of those comes in the form of Ipswich Town's Anis Mehmeti, whose recent exploits at Championship level are well-documented.

The 25-year-old's overall record in the division reads a total of 30 goals and 12 assists in 170 appearances, with the majority of those contributions coming for Bristol City.

During the 2024/25 season, Mehmeti's 12 goals were instrumental in the Robins' play-off finish, before he registered a further 14 goal contributions ahead of a £3m move to Portman Road in January.

However, he has been used sparsely by Kieran McKenna and current boss, Gary O'Neil, and even turned down moves to Birmingham and Wrexham in August in a bid to fight for his place in the Premier League, which is yet to be successful.

Even though Ipswich were said to be demanding as much as £9m for his services, this could be a deal worth revisiting.

Fabio Carvalho

Action Images

Blues haven't been afraid to make ambitious moves in the market under Knighthead, and a swoop for Brentford's Fabio Carvalho, potentially on loan, would be another statement of intent by the club.

The Portuguese playmaker was signed by the Bees for £27.5m from Liverpool two years ago, but has only made 35 appearances for the club in all competitions throughout that particular timeframe.

Last season, the 24-year-old was sidelined for a prolonged period due to injury, and has only played 170 minutes' worth of senior action this term under Keith Andrews.

Despite scoring last time out against Chelsea, a return to the Championship, where he has previously racked up 29 goal contributions in 56 appearances, could be an ideal short-term solution for all parties.

Adrian Segecic

Action Images

Adrian Segecic was also linked with a switch to St. Andrew's late in the summer window, although it wasn't entirely revealed whether interest from Birmingham was concrete enough that a bid had been submitted to Portsmouth.

However, it isn't exactly hard to see why there would have been interest in the Croatian playmaker, who played a starring role in the club's successful survival mission under John Mousinho after joining from Sydney FC last summer.

Segecic hit a double-figure goal tally and also amassed five assists despite the fact Pompey only scored 49 goals as a collective throughout the entire campaign.

If he is able to add to his one goal this season with an upturn in form between now and January, we may see the aforementioned links return.

Omari Kellyman

Action Images

A potentially controversial inclusion due to his prior association with Aston Villa, but Omari Kellyman could be seen as a viable loan option for Birmingham in January.

The 21-year-old has the ability to play out wide or in the '10' role which Ducksch frequently occupied last season, but has found recent gametime hard to come by.

After scoring 11 goals and posting two assists for Cardiff City in League One last term, there was hope that the Bluebirds would be able to strike a second loan deal with Chelsea, before the England youth international ended up moving to RC Strasbourg.

However, he has only played once in Ligue 1 for the fellow BlueCo-owned side and is at the stage of his career where regular gametime needs to be sourced, and it certainly could come at St. Andrew's given Birmingham's need for depth and quality in this area of the pitch.

Josh Brownhill

Action Images

A prior criticism from Birmingham supporters in recent times has been that the club haven't potentially eyed as many players with proven experience of Championship success.

Josh Brownhill is one man who has this in abundance, and his signature could become available on a free transfer in a matter of months when his contract with Saudi Pro League side, Al-Shabab, expires.

Blues were one of five Championship sides credited with interest in the 30-year-old in August, and given his ability to play several roles in midfield, could be seen as an upgrade on many of the current squad, Ducksch included.

The former Manchester United academy graduate boasts two promotions to the Premier League on his CV, including an 18-goal season with Burnley in 2024/25, where he also racked up a further six assists.