Confirmed: Rarely-seen Birmingham City player to stay at St Andrew's | OneFootball

Kanya Fujimoto's future lies at Birmingham City, despite playing just 141 minutes last season

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies has ensured that Kanya Fujimoto will remain at St Andrew's for the foreseeable future, after he was included in their EFL squad registration list.

The 27-year-old endured a difficult debut year in Birmingham after arriving on a free transfer last summer from Gil Vicente, where he was a mainstay in the Portuguese top-flight side for the better part of four years.

He didn't play a similar role at St Andrew's, though, playing just 141 senior minutes in all competitions, 45 of which came in five cameo substitute appearances in the Championship.

It seemed almost certain that Fujimoto would be leaving Birmingham this summer, but a move hasn't materialised, and the attacking midfielder was subsequently included in the Blues' squad list for the ongoing EFL campaign.

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The transfer window may be closed in England, but windows are still open across different European leagues, including Portugal's, where Fujimoto has over 150 top-flight appearances in his career.

So, despite a move not coming to fruition over the summer, there'd still have been some possibility that the 27-year-old could depart in the coming weeks, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Fujimoto played throughout pre-season at St Andrew's, and has been included by Chris Davies in the EFL registration squad. As far as the Blues boss is concerned, he'll be sticking around until at least January.

"He was named in the 25-man squad with that intention,” Davies said, per Birmingham Live.

"I was always open with Kanya around his game time. I didn’t want to promise him things that I can’t deliver. It was to see and assess his options. I like Kanya; he’s a really good team player. He just hasn’t obviously made a huge impact in competitive games.

"The idea was to give him the confidence to be part of it, but if he felt that he needed to move on, then obviously we would support that. At the moment he’s with us, and the plan is that he stays with us."

Kanya Fujimoto will be hoping to prove himself in a Birmingham City shirt over the coming months

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Last season, Fujimoto was often in squads but didn't come off the bench. Indeed, he was an unused substitute in 24 separate Championship outings.

That's followed a similar trend in the opening stages of this season, with the 27-year-old appearing in the squad, but not seeing the pitch, in four of the five league outings so far.

Fujimoto did start in Birmingham's 6-1 home defeat against Brentford in the EFL Cup, which was a bad day at the office all round. While not many left St Andrew's with their heads held high, the attacking midfielder will hope he isn't judged too harshly for that performance.

Nevertheless, that performance hasn't swayed Chris Davies' stance on whether he should feature more often in league action — a stance that Blues fans aren't completely against, either.

With Fujimoto looking likely to stay until the new year, he'll have quite a few people to prove wrong if he's given opportunities from now until then.

Kanya Fujimoto's time in Portugal shows that there's a player there

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There's been a plethora of signings under the Knighthead ownership at Birmingham. Some have been successful, others very much not, but Fujimoto's situation is a lot more head-scratching.

Do you think Kanya Fujimoto can prove people wrong after a dud first year in the Championship? Let us know in the comments.

The Japanese attacking midfielder was a top-20 player for goal contributions in the entire Liga Portugal in the 2024/25 campaign for a club that finished in the bottom half. He was a top-10 chance creator amongst attacking midfielders, too.

His availability was a strong point, too. Rarely would he miss games, and most of his appearances would be from the off.

It's really confusing how a creative midfielder who registered 10 or more goal contributions in each of his final two years in the Portuguese top flight has failed to make any impact in the Championship, even if he does play in a squad stacked with quality in the midfield.

But Fujimoto has done just that, and while he's seemingly been given a reprieve after a difficult first year, he's running out of time to prove that he's good enough to play in the second tier.