Chris Davies drops fresh Birmingham City transfer hint involving 24-year-old | OneFootball

Lee Buchanan hasn't featured for Blues in 13 months due to injury

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies has dropped a fresh transfer update on Lee Buchanan as the left-back nears a return to full fitness, 13 months on from his last appearance in royal blue.

It has been an extremely unfortunate time at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park for the defender, who initially arrived in the West Midlands during the first transfer window of Knighthead Capital Management's ownership of the club, and what proved to be John Eustace's final window as manager before his dismissal in October 2023.

Blues have undergone a major transformation in the two-and-a-half years which followed the 24-year-old's switch from Bundesliga side, Werder Bremen, with the club hoping to return to the Premier League as soon as possible after a current 15-year exile.

At present, Davies' men are 14th in the Championship, having endured an inconsistent first 26 games of the season whilst continuing to be reliant on a largely stellar run of form at St. Andrew's, having only tasted defeat in one league outing since the 40-year-old was appointed back in June 2024.

Birmingham recruited 14 players on permanent or loan deals last summer, and it is expected that the Second City outfit will be extremely busy in the current winter window, which comes to an end at 7PM on Monday, February 2nd.

Due to Buchanan's long-term absence with a serious ACL injury, it was well-documented that left-back had to be one of the areas in Blues' squad which needed attention at the turn of 2026, with the former Derby County man's misfortune meaning Davies had been heavily reliant on the services of Alex Cochrane, who has suffered two minor setbacks across the campaign thus far.

Last month, Football League World exclusively reported that plans were in place for Buchanan to be sent out on loan in an attempt to rebuild his match fitness and sharpness, having last been involved in competitive action in a goalless draw against Blackpool in December 2024.

However, despite acquiring the services of Kai Wagner from Philadelphia Union - who has already made a serious impression - Davies has now revealed that there is no need for the club to rush to such a decision with the Mansfield native speeding up his recovery in recent weeks.

Chris Davies drops fresh Birmingham City transfer hint involving Lee Buchanan

Buchanan revealed in November that a return to fitness was edging closer from his perspective, having been forced to watch the final months of Blues' record-breaking campaign in League One and the first half of the current second tier campaign from the sidelines.

Due to the timescale of his injury, the defender was also omitted from Blues' 25-man squad for the campaign's opening months alongside fellow long-term absentee, Scott Wright, who recently made the bench for the 3-2 victory over Coventry City on January 4th.

Birmingham Live have now reported that whilst it is unlikely that Buchanan will feature for the Championship side between now and the end of the season in May, Davies has not held talks with him over what the immediate future holds.

“Lee has just integrated to light training around the team which is great news," he explained. “Everyone welcomed him back.

“I think the priority for Lee is to build up his strength and fitness. We haven’t gone as far as ‘there’s a loan here or there’, we’re thinking about getting him fit and going again basically and seeing where we go from there.

“That’s Lee’s main focus, not that I’ve spoken to him at great length about it. It’s about getting back training," Davies added.

“Him and Scott Wright have done well. They’ve achieved all their targets in terms of their timelines to return to training. We’ll see how he (Buchanan) goes day-by-day now.”

Lee Buchanan would benefit from Birmingham City loan exit ahead of potential summer decision

Throughout the vast majority of his 39 appearances for Blues to-date, Buchanan has often been a dependable figure, despite the fact the bulk of those would also come in his first season, which ended in relegation.

However, at present, it is hard to envisage immediate first-team action coming his way at St. Andrew's, whilst it is also clear that a return to full fitness must be prioritised over a quick transfer decision that could potentially backfire after so long on the treatment table.

However, if the full-back is able to return to fitness and source a loan move in the next three weeks, it would be extremely beneficial in the short-term, whilst Birmingham may have a crucial decision to make over Buchanan in the summer, as his contract still has two-and-a-half years left to run.