Kai Wagner drops 'biggest' Birmingham City claim after surprise £3.8m transfer exit | OneFootball

Kai Wagner has returned to Philadelphia Union but has made a claim upon his exit from Birmingham City after a surprise early exit from the club...

Kai Wagner spent just six months with Birmingham City before making the move back to Philadelphia Union in MLS, with the left-back deciding to return to the USA for family and personal reasons.

Having played in Germany until 2019, Kai Wagner had been with Philadelphia Union for seven years prior to his arrival at St. Andrew's in January. He joined the MLS outfit from FC Wurzburger Kickers.

In January, he penned a two-and-a-half year deal with Birmingham City, with the 29-year-old going on to make 18 appearances in that time. He scored once and assisted three times, with many fans taking to the attacking full-back quickly.

Wagner has detailed why the difficult decision to leave Birmingham in a £3.8 million return to Philadelphia has been made in a heartfelt message on X (formerly Twitter), with the full-back returning to a club where he has made 253 appearances and registered 10 goals and 54 assists - mainly due to personal reasons relating to his family.

Kai Wagner makes Birmingham City claim after joining Philadelphia Union

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It appears as though his time in the second city has had a lasting impact, even if it was just six months of Wagner playing for Chris Davies at Birmingham.

Speaking via Philadelphia Union's official YouTube channel, Wagner has reflected on his time with Blues, even making a claim that might surprise some after his shock exit.

He said: "Yeah, the experience was unbelievable, to be honest. The club is like a club which is one of the biggest clubs in England.

"Just to see the fanbase there and get a whole different lifestyle and experience was such a special experience.

"I'm really, really grateful I made that step, to be honest. Just like, to play in this league, to see a different playing style and all this stuff is really, really special.

"Met great people, got a lot of new friends, but that chapter is done now."

Birmingham City's summer transfer window has not been particularly exciting

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It's fair to say Birmingham have made a relatively steady rather than spectacular start to the summer transfer window. Jhon Solis' loan move has been turned into a permanent deal, James Beadle has returned for a second successive loan spell, and Dael Fry has arrived on a free transfer to bolster the heart of the defence.

All three look likely to be sensible additions, but with promotion to the Premier League the objective, there is still plenty of work to do while several Championship rivals have already completed a flurry of signings. Wagner's departure has only heightened that urgency.

The German proved his quality at left-back last season, offering real quality in possession and a consistent attacking threat from wide areas. Replacing that profile will not be straightforward for Davies and co. this summer. Birmingham now look particularly light in the full-back positions and need to address that before the campaign begins.

Ideally, Davies will want another left-back capable of providing balance between solidity and attacking intent, while perhaps offering even greater dynamism in the final third. It is an area that surely has to become one of the club's top priorities over the coming weeks, but they need much more yet this summer.