Birmingham City news: Midfielder exit possible, exclusive transfer update, Tom Wagner drops Powerhouse stadium claim | OneFootball

FLW has rounded up the latest news at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park

Birmingham City are one of the Championship's main headline-grabbers at present, with plenty of on and off-pitch activity taking place at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park right now.

On the pitch, Chris Davies and his side have certainly answered their prior critics of late, particularly on home turf as they recently put all of Portsmouth, Millwall, Norwich City and Watford to the sword.

A collective run of five wins in eight games has seen Blues rise up to eighth in the table ahead of the upcoming round of Championship fixtures, having taken 28 points from the first 18 games.

It has been a historic two-week period at St. Andrew's too, with plans for the upcoming 'Powerhouse' stadium unveiled on Thursday, November 20th, before the club officially celebrated 150 years of history two days later against the aforementioned Canaries.

Plenty of news is expected to be generated in the coming weeks as we close in on the season-defining Christmas and New Year period, which coincides with the opening of the winter transfer window ahead of the second half of the campaign.

With that being said, Football League World has rounded up all of the major talking points in these parts of the Second City as Birmingham prepare for their upcoming clash against Southampton at St. Mary's.

It has been reported by local publication, Birmingham Live, that Blues' divisional rivals, Blackburn Rovers, have begun to explore the possibility of signing their current loanee, Taylor Gardner-Hickman, on a permanent basis.

The 23-year-old has been the subject of plenty of recent transfer moves, having only joined Birmingham on an initial loan basis from Bristol City during the summer of 2024 ahead of the club's record-breaking campaign in League One, before his deal was eventually made permanent in February for a reported £1.5m sum until the summer of 2028.

The Telford-born man featured in 43 games across all competitions last season as Davies' side went far in multiple competitions, scoring three times and posting a further two assists, as well as featuring in a whole number of varying positions from his natural central midfield place, to right-back and even left-winger.

However, as Blues conducted a high-profile summer recruitment drive, Gardner-Hickman was deemed surplus in the short-term, reuniting with his former West Bromwich Albion boss, Valerien Ismael, at Ewood Park on a loan deal with an option-to-buy.

After making 13 appearances for Rovers thus far, the aforementioned report also states there is a clear possibility that a permanent agreement could be struck between the two clubs in the coming weeks.

It was exclusively revealed by Football League World on Wednesday, December 3rd, that Blues are looking to make left-back their key position in terms of transfer activity in the upcoming transfer window.

Alex Cochrane remains Davies' reliable first-choice option, having amassed over 70 appearances since his move from Hearts last summer, but beyond the ex-Brighton man is where the problems lie.

Lee Buchanan has stepped up his recovery from a serious knee injury sustained 12 months ago. However, there is hope that the ex-Werder Bremen man can be loaned out in order to rebuild his fitness and regular gametime whilst Blues set their sights on the play-offs, whilst Ethan Laird, who has also covered for Cochrane in parts, is also sidelined until February with a hamstring problem.

Jack Robinson was recruited as a somewhat dependable cover option in the summer, but Davies is now expected to pursue a natural backup for Cochrane instead.

FLW also revealed that Davies will be without Bright Osayi-Samuel due to his involvement with Nigeria in the African Cup of Nations. However, the summer recruit is now not expected to depart until after next weekend's home clash with Charlton Athletic.

Tom Wagner addresses Birmingham City 'Powerhouse' stadium design

As previously mentioned, Blues' upcoming 'Powerhouse' stadium design was unveiled on November 20th, with a prominent inclusion of 12 chimneys certainly splitting opinion.

Two weeks on from the historic event at Digbeth Loc Studios, the club's majority owner, Tom Wagner, revealed to club media, his thoughts behind the design that will stand as the centrepiece of the East Birmingham Sports Quarter project, said to cost £2-3bn.

“I would tell the naysayers they can find something else to criticise," Wagner stated.

“You're never going to please everybody, it's impossible in the modern world.

“What we've found is that we'll try to speak to the core of our supporter base and provide something that resonates with them and our goal here was to pursue a stadium design that we thought reflected the history, heritage and culture of the city without being apologetic for it.