Birmingham City star faces uncertain St Andrew's future - he's being tipped to 'fall away' | OneFootball

Willum Willumsson is yet to convince some at St Andrew's with his performances

Birmingham City's return to the Championship was met with plenty of excitement and intrigue, not just by Bluenoses, but those on the outside looking to see how the ambitious club would perform over the 46-game season.

Blues' achievements in League One were somewhat downplayed by outsiders, who weren't entirely shocked that the club won the third tier title at a canter ahead of second-place Wrexham, whilst eventually smashing the EFL's all-time points record of 111, five more than the previous tally set by Reading's second tier-winning side of 2005/06.

Unsurprisingly, many who were a part of the squad which Chris Davies assembled through the backing of Knighthead Capital Management during his first-ever season in a full-time managerial role have asserted themselves as firm fan favourites at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, even if they have since moved on to pastures new, such is the rapid rate at which the Second City outfit are looking to progress through the pyramid.

This includes the likes of Jay Stansfield, Alfie May - who has since joined Huddersfield Town, Tomoki Iwata, Alex Cochrane, Christoph Klarer and Ryan Allsop, all of whom were integral to such exploits in B9 last term.

Many believed that several players at Davies' disposal would make a seamless transition into the Championship, and that has certainly played out in some cases. However, Willum Willumsson is one man in the Blues ranks who remains somewhat of an enigma due to his performance levels, with some on the terraces believing the Icelandic attacking midfielder is in danger of falling by the wayside.

The towering playmaker was one of the first high-profile signings made last summer as Blues moulded a squad capable of achieving a first-time promotion in style, as he joined from Go Ahead Eagles for £3.5m.

Willumsson immediately provided some creative flair as Davies opted to utilise two 'wide number 10's' behind the focal striker, which saw the 18-time international post eight league goal contributions by mid-November, as well as a hat-trick of assists in a 7-1 win over Fulham's Under-21 side in the EFL Trophy.

However, there was a notable drop-off in form and output following a knock in early 2025, with it taking the midfielder 17 games to register a goal and assist for the first time since New Year's Day, with both coming in the final home game of last season against Mansfield Town.

Unsurprisingly, there has been skepticism as to whether Willumsson would handle the step-up in class when it comes to the Championship. Yet, whilst he continued to be a mainstay in the side prior to a recent injury, the likes of FLW's Blues fan pundit, Jason Moore, aren't exactly seeing what Davies had been noticing in relation to his selection calls.

Willum Willumsson's Birmingham City future could be uncertain

Moore told FLW that the former BATE Borisov man hasn't been the same since his initial injury, and he has since been ruled out of action, at least until October, after recently sustaining another blow, although the specific details of said knock are yet to be revealed.

"I just don't think he's agile or quick enough to keep up with the pace of English football," Moore said.

"He showed that there is a player in there in League One, but when he got injured around January, he just wasn't the same player."

"The only thing that may see him hold on to the club is that Chris Davies loves him so much, and whilst he knows more than us, he sees him every day, the eyes are the ultimate test and, for me, he's not quite it, especially if we go to the Premier League," he added.

"So. I think he'll fall away and eventually lose his spot," our fan pundict predicted.

'Thor', as he has become known in these parts, has shown in glimpses that he has the technical ability to cause damage, although his performances were more solid and somewhat frustrating than spectacular against Oxford United and Leicester City prior to the international break, aspects which Moore touched upon in his analysis.

It isn't exactly a fault of Willumsson's, as there have been several instances where players have attributes that are best-suited in varying divisions and countries. In this case, it begs the question whether he will be at Blues for the long run, particularly when taking into account the rather ruthless transfer strategy that saw the likes of May and Krystian Bielik moved on in the summer, as Davies and owner, Tom Wagner, hope to continue surpassing an array of top-quality levels in every single department of the football club.