"I'm all for it" - Birmingham City fan pundit reacts to Tahith Chong decision | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

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Birmingham City lost winger Tahith Chong to newly-promoted Premier League side Luton Town this summer.

Chong joined the Hatters for £4 million earlier this month as Rob Edwards strengthens his squad for the Premier League after their promotion from the Championship.

The 23-year-old initially joined the Blues on loan from Manchester United in July 2021 before making the move permanent last summer for a fee of around £1.5 million.

Chong enjoyed an impressive campaign last season, scoring four goals and providing five assists in 41 appearances in all competitions to earn his move to the top flight.

It has been a busy summer at St Andrew's, with Tyler Roberts, Krystian Bielik, Ethan Laird, Koji Miyoshi, Siriki Dembele, Dion Sanderson, Keshi Anderson and Lee Buchanan arriving as Tom Wagner provides manager John Eustace with significant financial backing.

Eustace will be hoping his side can improve on last season's 17th-placed finish and his side get their campaign underway with a trip to face Swansea City at the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday.

Will Birmingham City miss Tahith Chong?

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit Mike Gibbs says that while he was disappointed to lose Chong, he believes his sale is good business for the club, particuarly considering the players they have brought in this summer.

"I was really disappointed when we lost him, but I think if you see who we've brought in to replace him, it's actually a really good bit of business," Mike said.

"There's a lot of chat amongst Birmingham fans around what the fee actually is.

"Is it £5 million? Is it rising to 10? How much is the sell on fee to United?

"But if it's the upper numbers of those that have been quoted, then I think it's really good business. "Keshi Anderson coming in on a free transfer, a year contract with the option of another year, great bit of business and Siriki Dembele looks absolutely class at this level. "Dembele is a direct replacement, we've added Anderson for less than we got for Chong and we've been able to use that money to strengthen in other areas, so I think it's a really, really good bit of business and Craig Gardner's done really well.

"The other side of it is that it fits the model, we want to buy players young, develop them and sell them on for more money, that's how we're going to create a sustainable club, so I'm all for it."

How will Birmingham City perform in the Championship next season?

It has been an excellent summer for the Blues.

Chong's departure has brought in funds to allow Eustace to reinvest in the squad, while they have also received a £6 million sell-on fee from Jude Bellingham's move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid.

Birmingham's squad looks stronger than last season and while Chong will be missed, the signings of Roberts, Miyoshi, Dembele and Anderson will help to replace the attacking threat that has been lost with the Dutchman's exit.

It will be an incredibly competitive division next season, but after years of struggling towards the bottom of the table, there is optimism at St Andrew's that the Blues could be set for an exciting campaign.