How many signings Chris Davies really wants at Birmingham City this summer - Tom Wagner demand sent | OneFootball

The Birmingham boss has outlined how many new arrivals he wants at his club this summer

There arguably hasn't been a more headline-grabbing side in the EFL when it comes to transfers over the past couple of years than Birmingham City, and they'll be looking to make a splash again in the upcoming summer window.

The Blues fell short of their lofty expectations this season. Last June, owner Tom Wagner stated that they were aiming to reach the Premier League at the first attempt, following their record-breaking League One campaign.

Those ambitions were reflected in the transfer window, too, with 12 new arrivals in the summer, punctuated by the £10 million deal to bring in Kyogo Furuhashi from Rennes, who was one of the Scottish Premiership's most deadly strikers during his time at Celtic.

They weren't done in January either, as six new faces joined, and Patrick Roberts was made permanent, to try and boost a team who were, at the end of the window, just five points off the top six.

In reality, it wasn't to be for the Blues this season. They ended up securing a top-10 finish, but that was due to a strong end to the campaign, with three wins and two draws in their final five games. A run of one win in eight preceding that killed their promotion hopes ahead of the run-in.

Chris Davies only wants six new signings this summer at Birmingham City

With the sheer number of new faces coming into the squad over the past nine months, Birmingham boss Chris Davies is more focused on fine-tuning his side ahead of the 2026/27 campaign, rather than going on a spending spree once again.

Discounting the possibility of making Jhon Solis and Ibrahim Osman's loan deals permanent, Davies reckons that the Blues will need to make just six new signings to replace six outgoing players, whether that be due to loans expiring or personnel being sold.

"I think that's around the right figure," Davies told Birmingham Live after being questioned whether he still believed six in, six out would be the ideal transfer window.

"You've got to look at some of the loans that we've had that we'll maybe explore. I suppose I've included them as being with us still, but I know there's still a lot of work to do there.

"That's around the ballpark number, I would say, but it's quality, not quantity. We've got to make sure we get them right.

"I know it's not easy, but it should be more possible with fewer players. When you're doing 12, 13, or 14, then you're going to get a few wrong, but if we can take our time and really get this right, I think we've got continuity.

"I know what I think is necessary to take us on to the next level in this league. In every position I'm looking at, I know what that looks like. If we can get that right, that number should be fine."

Indeed, while a lot of the new arrivals at St Andrew's this season have been solid, there have been some real head-scratchers, and some even bigger disappointments.

Their marquee arrival, Kyogo, was a massive letdown, with just one league goal in 28 games and plenty of missed chances amongst that. Then, the likes of Kanya Fujimoto, who arrived permanently, and Lewis Koumas and Eiran Cashin, who both came in on loan, for example, hardly got a look-in this season.

The loan duo ended up being recalled, but Fujimoto has just remained on the books at the club with hardly any gametime to show for it.

So, quality over quantity is the aim of this summer's transfer window, and six quality signings to go alongside a squad that has spent the last nine months gelling together should be better suited to make a run at promotion than the one this season.

Birmingham City need to get this summer transfer window right if they want to keep pace with their high ambitions

With the new 62,000-capacity 'powerhouse' stadium at the heart of Birmingham's new Sports Quarter set to be completed in time for the 2030/31 campaign, the Blues need to start performing on the field to hit their targets ahead of that date.

Ideally, the Blues will be breaking into the European conversation in the Premier League come then, and the sooner they get out of the Championship, the longer they'll have to establish themselves in the top flight to make those ambitions seem more attainable.

This season has been a reality check for Chris Davies' side, though, and a reminder that the second tier is one of the hardest divisions to get out of.

But, with the resources that you'd imagine will be available to the Blues' boss this summer, Birmingham will likely be set to improve on their 10th-place finish and push towards a play-off spot, or even an automatic promotion place.

If they can secure promotion the second time of asking, they'll be back on track to achieve where they hope to be by 2030.