Chris Davies sent clear Birmingham City demand involving £2.2m ace | OneFootball

Max Bird is still awaiting his first start at St. Andrew's after signing from Bristol City

Birmingham City have enjoyed an encouraging start to the Championship season under Chris Davies, and they will be hoping to build on their prior performances when the lengthy international break ends on October 10th.

Blues' 10th-placed finish last term was met with mixed reviews after their significant transfer spend, and as a result, activity was also lessened ahead of the current campaign.

That said, there wasn't exactly the greatest deal of optimism swirling around St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park ahead of the season, which got underway on August 15th with a goalless draw at Sheffield United.

However, Birmingham are well-placed in the division's top-half heading into the season's third month, having lost just one of their opening eight matches, despite several of those encounters ending level.

Supporters have already caught glimpses of their seven new additions from the recently-closed summer window, with Hull City loanee, Liam Millar, certainly standing out from the rest, having accrued one goal and three assists from his first four appearances.

There was also plenty of excitement surrounding the acquisition of Max Bird from Bristol City, but the former Birmingham academy player is still awaiting his first start due to injury misfortune.

Birmingham City told who Max Bird must replace in Chris Davies' XI

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Bird, 26, was signed for a reported £2.2m in August after making 68 appearances for the Robins across two full seasons - the first of which saw his former employers reach the play-offs under Liam Manning.

In that particular campaign, the deep-lying midfielder racked up eight assists, before a calf injury limited his gametime last term to just 15 league outings.

Bird played just 12 minutes of the opening day draw at Bramall Lane before sustaining a lower leg injury, although it is hoped he will return to fitness before the upcoming clash with West Bromwich Albion.

Asked who he could replace in the starting lineup if Davies opts to utilise him from the get-go, Football League World's Birmingham City fan pundit, Jason Moore, said: “I think if you asked any Blues fans this question, you'd get the same answer every single time.

“It's Iwata currently, and if Iwata jumps out of the team, it's Paik. It’s Chris Davies’ ‘lovechilds' that are under threat, but they’re not good enough.

“I think that's why Bird was brought in, to create a new partnership. Jhon Solis has been solid since we got him in January and has had a solid start (to this season). Those couple of games when he was out showed how vital he is for us," he added.

“So, from the starting XI we've had most of the season, it's Iwata, and that just puts Paik’s position in the lineup even further down the pecking order.”

“They've both been really, really poor. Iwata just offers us a bit more energy. It’d be Paik and Iwata (under threat)," Moore continued.

“I'd love to see a new partnership that can actually play football and have a bit of purpose on the ball between Solis and Max Bird.”

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Bird also amassed 200 appearances for Derby County after breaking into the first-team fold at Pride Park at just 16 years of age, and his career has since gone from strength-to-strength.

Even in a campaign where gametime was limited, Bird was still impressive when on the pitch at Ashton Gate under Gerhard Struber and Roy Hodgson, and with Davies hoping his pre-existing squad's overall divisional experience would be far greater this season, it's no surprise that that was a key factor behind the signing, as well as the midfielder's technical ability.

“On the pitch, Max can contribute at both ends. He can break up attacks and win the ball back, but he can also create scoring opportunities and contribute offensively with the way he passes forward," Davies explained.

“He gives us versatility in an important area and has a really good profile for what we need. We’re delighted to have him on board and we’re looking forward to working with him.”

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Iwata was recruited from Celtic two seasons ago, and after initially forming a strong midfield partnership with Paik in League One, found himself primarily at right-back last year due to availability issues concerning Bright Osayi-Samuel and Max Bird.

The Japanese has been solid, if not spectacular, in the current campaign's opening weeks, whilst Solis has continued to catch the eye after his move from Girona was made permanent for £6m.