Birmingham City urged to sell 11-goal forward - 'stupid' transfer claim issued | OneFootball

Marvin Ducksch's first season at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park has been extremely mixed

Birmingham City are in for a critical pre-season at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, with the clubs on and off-pitch ambitions documented more than most at this moment in time.

Blues haven't competed in the Premier League for 15 years now, and it is certainly the hope of owner, Tom Wagner and the supporters in B9 to realise those dreams once again in the near future after spending over a decade in the Championship, as well as a solitary campaign in League One.

Indeed, plenty of hype surrounded Birmingham as a club this time 12 months ago, as they marked Chris Davies' first season in charge with the winning of 111 points from 46 games in the third tier, before conducting the first of two major transfer reshuffles last summer.

This saw 14 new players become a part of a squad under Davies which many believed, at worst, would finish mid-table in the Championship without any added investment and quality.

However, despite further changes being made in the winter window, Blues saw their dreams of a late play-off charge end ahead of the season's final international break, despite ending it with a five-game unbeaten streak.

But, as well as seeing sack calls come the way of Davies before a strong end to the season, it is fair to say that striker, Marvin Ducksch, was a man in the headlines for reasons related, and unrelated, to on-pitch matters, which has seen the German forward become a real-opinion splitter amongst Bluenoses heading towards the summer transfer window.

Birmingham City urged to sell Marvin Ducksch as FC Augsburg transfer interest surfaces ahead of summer window

Ducksch was signed from Werder Bremen for a reported £1.75m on a three-year contract, but due to fitness issues, had to wait until November 22nd for his first goals in a 4-1 rout over Norwich City.

Overall, the 32-year-old went on to score 11 goals in 36 appearances across all competitions, despite the fact that interest from clubs such as Real Sociedad, AEK Athens and unnamed MLS outfits came to light in March.

Such speculation also came before the forward was the cause of a serious three-way car collision in Henley-in-Arden after the 2-1 defeat to Ipswich Town on Easter Monday, after which he pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol, and was subsequently banned from driving for a 14-month period and fined a further £16,000.

However, it has now emerged that Bundesliga side, FC Augsburg, are monitoring his situation, largely due to a reported €1m (£866,000) non-promotion release clause in his contract.

Given the aforementioned off-pitch developments, Football League World's Birmingham City fan pundit, Jason Moore, would like to see Blues part ways with Ducksch in any way, shape or form.

"I want to get rid of Marvin Ducksch that bad, I'm at the point where I'd rip his contract up and let him go for free," he told FLW.

"If someone wants to come in with €1m, and whatever that is in English money, 100% take it.

"After his whole debacle, I quite openly said afterward that he doesn't represent what the club's about, or where it's going. It paints a bad image for us," Moore stated.

"I'd let him go for free, so if we can get any money, great.

"I was hoping it would be a decent sum so we could get some of the money back that we paid for him, so whoever put that 'stupid' non-promotion clause needs to take some responsibility.

"We can let him go for £0 (in my view), but if we get some money, great," he added.

Marvin Ducksch's potential Birmingham City exit is a dilemma for all concerned

Ducksch, of course, has shown moments of quality throughout a season of inconsistency and issues, meaning his potential exit represents a dilemma for all involved.

It perhaps isn't the greatest of surprises that some would like to see a parting of ways due to off-field antics, especially while he is also 32 years of age and not a player with the highest of ceilings for the remainder of his career.

As such, it would be hugely frustrating if the club were to make a loss on the two-time German international, but the funds could still go towards an overall rebuild ahead of next season, which gets underway in mid-August.