"100%" - Emile Heskey drops clear Birmingham City prediction | OneFootball

Emile Heskey exclusively shared his Birmingham City promotion prediction with Football League World

Emile Heskey has backed Birmingham City to bounce straight back up to the Championship from League One this season.

Blues fell to relegation to the third-tier of English football for the first time in more than 30 years at the end of the 2023/24 season, despite accumulating 50 points and beating Norwich City at home on the final day.

However, relegation has helped Birmingham to hit the reset button under Tom Wagner and co, who have laid bare their ambition to lead Blues back to the Championship and beyond.

A significant squad exodus was conducted in the aftermath of relegation, shifting high earners and those deemed surplus to requirements in a bid to balance the books, refresh the squad and reinvest funds into constructing what many have since deemed to be a League One super-team.

Birmingham enjoyed a summer spending spree grander than any previous windows of investment in League One history, where they demolished the division's transfer record to strike a stunning return for Jay Stansfield at a cost in excess of £10 million and managed to convince the likes of Willum Willumsson, Ben Davies, Christoph Klarer and others to drop to the third-tier.

Their total spending across the summer has been greatly speculated amid contrasting reports in the media, with some claiming that it exceeded the £30 million mark, though either way, it is patently clear that Blues splashed the cash in order to give themselves not only the best chance at achieving promotion at the very first time of asking, but indeed to realise the club's lofty long-term ambitions.

Birmingham City's start to the 24/25 League One season

Birmingham were widely listed as the favourites for the League One title this season and, to little surprise, they have proved exactly why that was the case.

Chris Davies' side are sitting pretty at the summit of the league table after eleven matches, nine of which have resulted in victory.

To Birmingham's credit, they have faced many potential promotion rivals such as Wrexham, Rotherham, Peterborough, Huddersfield and most recently Bolton, who they saw off with a 2-0 victory at St Andrews @ Knighthead Park on Tuesday evening, which has further underlined their credentials.

The victory over Wrexham was particularly memorable. In a game which was billed as a Hollywood Derby of sorts - owing to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's ownership of the Welsh side, Birmingham claimed a blockbuster 3-1 win against perhaps the only team in the division capable of keeping pace with them and rivaling their spending.

There have been precious few bumps in the road, save for a 1-0 defeat to Nathan Jones' Charlton Athletic at the start of October. It is difficult to see Blues slowing down anytime soon, and they will be looking to extend their four-point lead over second-placed Wrexham in upcoming matches against Mansfield, Northampton and Stevenage.

Emile Heskey's Birmingham City promotion prediction

Former Blues frontman Heskey has weighed in on his ex-side's promotion ambitions, which he believes will undoubtedly be realised at the end of this season.

Indeed, Heskey has argued that Birmingham perhaps never should have been relegated from the Championship in the first place with the investment from the owners and the squad they had last season.

According to Heskey, the squad which has since been assembled would be among the strongest in the league above and next season will likely put that to the test, and his admission aligns with the club's ambition of building a team greater than its division.

The ex-Liverpool and Leicester City striker earned 62 caps for the England national team during a storied playing career and also turned out for Birmingham for two seasons in the Premier League between 2004 and 2006, scoring eleven goals in an impressive first campaign in the Second City.

When quizzed on whether Birmingham will achieve promotion this season, Heskey exclusively told Football League World: "Yeah, 100`%.

"With the investment that the owners have put in, the squad that they’ve got - they arguably shouldn’t have gone down - 100% they’ll bounce straight back up.