5 Birmingham City players you may have forgotten are still at the club | OneFootball

FLW have looked at some of the forgotten men at St. Andrew's ahead of the new season

Birmingham City have invested heavily in their playing squad in recent times, with Knighthead Capital Management having very clear ambitions at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park in the short and long-term.

The American investment group have been in the boardroom for three years now, but it hasn't always been smooth sailing for the likes of Tom Wagner, with Blues being relegated to League One for the first time in 30 years before returning to the Championship in record-breaking fashion under current manager, Chris Davies.

However, 2025/26 was a season of mixed fortunes for Birmingham, who were many people's pick to at least finish in the play-offs after two further high-profile recruitment drives, but that was far from the reality.

After an inconsistent first half of the season, Davies reshuffled his squad and saw an upturn in fortunes for a brief period, before hopes of making the top six were ended before the campaign's final international break.

That said, there will now be an expectancy that the 41-year-old's side will improve their results even more in 2026/27, especially after the expansion of the play-offs, while Davies has also outlined what he will be looking for in the remainder of the summer window.

But, it's also fair to say that there are some forgotten men in his squad at present, and FLW have looked at five of those.

Lee Buchanan

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Lee Buchanan signed a five-year contract in July 2023, but has suffered immense misfortune on the injury front in the past two seasons.

Indeed, the full-back's last competitive appearance came against Blackpool in December 2024, when he suffered a serious knee injury which has since kept him sidelined.

There was hope that the former Derby County man would be fit at some point earlier in 2026, but luck still wouldn't shine down on the 25-year-old, who will be competing against both Kai Wagner and Alex Cochrane in the left-back department when he is available once again.

Marc Leonard

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Next up is Marc Leonard, who was one of Davies' first signings at St. Andrew's two summers ago, joining from Brighton and Hove Albion.

However, for multiple reasons, the Scottish midfielder hasn't been given the chance to prove his quality, initially struggling to oust Paik Seung-ho and Tomoki Iwata in the 2024/25 League One-winning term, before continuing to appear mainly as a substitute in the first half of last term.

He was then sent out on loan to Scottish Premiership title chasers, Hearts, but after initially impressing at Tynecastle, ruptured his achilles in the final weeks of the term, and is now set to be sidelined for the vast majority of what remains in 2026.

Taylor Gardner-Hickman

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Taylor Gardner-Hickman's versatility was a key asset for Blues in 2024/25, and it led to his initial loan from Bristol City being turned into a permanent deal until June 2028.

However, with Davies overseeing a reshuffle in his midfield, the Telford-born man was sent out on loan to Blackburn Rovers, where he also endured mixed fortunes as the East Lancashire side struggled for consistency.

Under his former West Bromwich Albionoption-to-buy clause.

Kanya Fujimoto

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Kanya Fujimoto was signed as a free agent last summer after his contract with Gil Vicente expired, but it is fair to say that Birmingham fans are still somewhat perplexed as to why the Japanese midfielder was signed initially.

Indeed, the 27-year-old began his spell at St. Andrew's with fitness issues which limited his availability in pre-season, before only playing 45 minutes of Championship action in the 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday last September.

Even after Blues' season had petered out, Davies opted not to utilise his services in an experimental selection decision, although he did recently provide two assists for compatriot, Kyogo Furuhashi, against Huddersfield Town in the club's first pre-season friendly of 2026/27.

Scott Wright

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The last of this quintet is Scottish winger, Scott Wright, who has also suffered injury woes within the two years he has been with Birmingham since signing from Rangers.

The experienced figure was a strong impact player during the first months of his current spell, scoring a last-minute winner on debut versus Wigan Athletic, but suffered a second serious knee injury of his career against Reading in February 2025.