Double Birmingham City attacker exit feels likely - £11.7m won't be re-couped | OneFootball

Birmingham City are unlikely to recoup the fees they paid for Kyogo Furuhashi and Marvin Ducksch last summer

Birmingham City's season looks set to draw to a disappointing close, with the Blues' chances of making the play-offs looking slim to none at this stage following inconsistent runs of form.

Having excelled in League One last time around, romping to the third division title in style by amassing the EFL points record, there was much expectation surrounding St Andrews, and particularly on head coach Chris Davies, to continue this rich vein of form into the Championship.

The Birmingham owners have backed Davies in both his League One and Championship campaigns, allowing him to spend upwards of £50 million across the past two years in a bid to fire the club straight through into the Premier League.

With this amount of investment, Blues' owners are bound to be disappointed to be sitting 12 points off the top six with four games to go, with another year in the second tier being all but confirmed.

Only a handful of their signings over the past couple of seasons can, at this stage, be considered unmitigated successes. Christoph Klarer has been excellent since arriving in defence, Jay Stansfield, whilst his fee was lucrative, has continued to be one of their best performers, and Patrick Roberts, initially signed on loan, has too be brilliant from out wide.

However, the same cannot be said for two players, who Birmingham will struggle to recoup anywhere near the eight-figure sum they outlayed on the pair last summer.

Kyogo Furuhashi and Marvin Ducksch signed for Birmingham for a combined £11.7 million

Overall, it's been an underwhelming year for Birmingham, who, given the heights they hit during their one and only campaign in League One, falling short of the lofty expectations they set for themselves was always going to be a real possibility.

The summer window saw the likes of Demarai Gray and Phil Neumann join on free transfers, James Beadle and Tommy Doyle join on loan, whilst Kyogo Furuhashi and Marvin Ducksch signed for a combined £11.7 million.

Kyogo had shone in Scotland for Celtic previously, and after six disappointing months in France with Stade Rennes, he was once again on the move, with Birmingham parting ways with £10 million for the Japanese forward.

Meanwhile, Ducksch joined from German side Werder Bremen for just £1.7 million after scoring goals for fun in both the first and second tiers in his native country over the years, and at 31, made his first move abroad in his career.

It would be fair to suggest that Ducksch has been a better signing than Kyogo, both in terms of impact and value for money, though the German has been shrouded in a recent controversy, which has painted his time at the club in a different light.

Ducksch was recently charged with drink-driving after crashing his car, and has since had disciplinary procedures by the club, though this incident has started to cast doubt on his long-term future with the club.

With ten goals and two assists in 32 Championship games this season, thus far, Ducksch certainly hasn't been a flop by any stretch, yet his off-field issues are a damning indictment of his character, and something Birmingham may be keen to distance themselves from.

Meanwhile, Kyogo has had a torrid year on the pitch, scoring once in 28 league appearances, starting just eight games all campaign and is now expected to miss the final four games after undergoing surgery on his shoulder.

Doing the maths, for each league goal the 31-year-old has scored this season, it's cost Birmingham about £10 million, which, given it's not a difficult sum to work out, is a truly awful return.

With both entering their early thirties, they would have had little resale value regardless of whether they performed well, but given how things have played out, it looks almost certain they will make a significant loss on the pair when they do eventually move on.

Whether either of them will leave this upcoming summer remains to be seen, but both have played a part in Birmingham's underperformance this season, and both could be cut loose prematurely sooner rather than later.

Chris Davies must take the lion's share of criticism in deals for Kyogo Furuhashi and Marvin Ducksch

Someone will have to take the blame for the failure this season, as well as the signings of Kyogo and Ducksch, and that person will almost certainly be head coach Davies.

The former Leicester City and Celtic assistant boss to Brendan Rodgers has come under a large amount of scrutiny this season for his inability to continue Birmingham's form from League One into the Championship, which could result in him losing his job.

The final handful of games will be telling on Davies' future at the club, as, with a top six finish now all but impossible, his failure to meet expectations may cost him his role at Birmingham.

The signings of Kyogo and Ducksch, whilst the Japanese forward has certainly been worse from a financial perspective, will both reflect poorly on Davies, and will both be taken into consideration by the board when coming to a decision on his future.

Whether Davies, Kyogo, or Ducksch will be at St Andrews next season remains to be seen, but what is certain is that the club will not recoup the combined £11.7 million spent on the pair.