How much Birmingham City could pay Wolves for permanent Tommy Doyle transfer amid recall talk | OneFootball

The midfielder's immediate future remains up in the air amid a recent run in Blues' starting lineup

Birmingham City have one of the most high-profile squads in the Championship at present, continuing a theme which began during the club's solitary campaign back in League One under Chris Davies.

With Knighthead Capital Management bankrolling Blues' rebuilding project, several star names have come through the doors at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park since the summer transfer window back in 2024, which was also Davies' first in charge after he replaced Tony Mowbray.

Tom Wagner hasn't been afraid to splash the cash in order to speed up Birmingham's hopes of eventually returning to the Premier League, with a new 62,000-capacity stadium on the horizon at the upcoming Sports Quarter complex.

As a result, a plethora of changes to Davies' squad were made after a record-breaking campaign last term, in which the West Midlands side won 34 of their 46 League One encounters en route to amassing the EFL's all-time high of 111 points, leaving many to believe that the nucleus of an already competent Championship side was already in place.

Regardless, another remarkable recruitment drive began in July with six signings announced in as many days, with a further eight either officially joining the club or moving to B9 prior to the transfer deadline on September 1st.

Five of those incomings were also completed on a temporary basis, although at present, it remains to be seen exactly what Tommy Doyle's future looks like, based on fresh reports surrounding a loan agreement in place with Wolverhampton Wanderers for the deep-lying midfielder.

The 24-year-old has been on Wolves' books since 2023 on either a loan or permanent basis, initially joining the Black Country side on loan from Manchester City under Gary O'Neil, having previously impressed at Championship level in temporary stints with Cardiff City and Sheffield United.

A breakthrough season in the Premier League was enough for the Old Gold and Black to strike a £4.3m agreement on a four-year deal in May 2024, with Pep Guardiola's side also entitled to a 50 percent sell-on clause and a buy-back option.

Following O'Neil's dismissal, former Wolves head coach, Vitor Pereira, claimed that a lack of physicality meant it was hard for him to select Doyle in the Premier League, which saw his minutes drastically reduced.

Overall, he has played 58 times for the Molineux outfit thus far, scoring twice and posting one assist, before Football League World exclusively revealed that Blues had emerged as winners over Sunderland in the race for his signature over the course of the current campaign.

Yet, after finally being given his chance to shine in Davies' midfield on a much more regular basis, which included an assist for Tomoki Iwata in the recent 4-0 demolition of Portsmouth at St. Andrew's, his immediate future in the Second City has been plunged into doubt.

Football Insider initially claimed that new Wolves boss Rob Edwards could terminate the aforementioned loan deal in the upcoming transfer window, with the 42-year-old said to be a big admirer of the former England Under-21 international.

However, there is an alternative scenario which could also play out, with Daz Hale of BBC Radio WM subsequently reporting that there is no recall option within the agreement.

Tommy Doyle could still make a permanent switch to Birmingham City amid Wolves recall talk

Indeed, just prior to confirmation of Doyle's loan switch to Birmingham being made public, a hefty option-to-buy clause inserted within the agreement was reported by journalist Alan Nixon via Patreon.

According to Nixon, Blues could strike a permanent deal for the midfielder at the end of the season, although they would have to part with £10m in order to do so, with Doyle halfway through his aforementioned contract length in WV1 by the time June 2026 comes around.

Capology ESTIMATES claim that the loanee is earning a base wage of just £10,000 per week despite the option-to-buy figure, which would match the fee Blues paid to sign former Celtic hotshot, Kyogo Furuhashi, from Rennes in the same week in which Doyle moved shortly across the M6.

Edwards does have several midfield options at his disposal too, in the form of Joao Gomes, Andre, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Marshall Munetsi, although it is no surprise the former Middlesbrough boss hopes to make the requisite changes in order to halt an already dramatic slide at Molineux.

With Wolves appearing destined for relegation to the Championship at this moment in time, it would make sense why Edwards may intend on recalling Doyle to get the gifted midfielder up to speed with his system. Birmingham, however, will be hoping that Wolves allow Doyle to stay put for the campaign's entirety, or failing that, consider giving the green-light to a permanent switch across the West Midlands.