Birmingham City confirm player exit and it's caused a big reaction | OneFootball

Aurelien Guernier's departure from St. Andrew's to AC Milan hasn't gone down well with some

Birmingham City have become one of the most high-profile clubs in the EFL in recent times, meaning the majority of moves made at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park are analysed at length by those on the outside, as well as their supporters.

Through the continued backing of American investors, Knighthead Capital Management, Blues are looking to go from strength-to-strength in every department, especially on the pitch as they currently reside in the Championship.

In previous years, Birmingham had spent the longest period of time in the division out of any club, albeit through major stagnation and regression following their last relegation from the Premier League 15 years ago.

However, with Tom Wagner as owner, the 56-year-old has, and will continue to do all he can to keep changing the culture in this part of the West Midlands.

After a chaotic initial period in the boardroom, Knighthead have certainly attempted to learn from those mistakes and provide stability, and that has been the case in terms of management, with Chris Davies continuously backed despite periods where supporters have called for a change in the dugout.

12 months ago, the 41-year-old was braced for his first season as a Championship manager after another high-profile recruitment drive, and whilst another followed earlier in 2026, Blues were only able to finish 10th.

Heading into the 2026/27 season, many will expect the Second City outfit to mount a much more sustained bid for the play-offs, especially after its expansion. However, that has coincided with feelings of frustration in the early days of the summer transfer window.

Birmingham City confirm exit of highly-rated Aurelien Guernier after AC Milan agreement

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Indeed, several high-profile names such as Demarai Gray, Marvin Ducksch and club-record signing, Jay Stansfield, have all been the subject of exit talk.

However, it has now been confirmed by Birmingham that they have lost the services of "exciting" left-winger, Aurelien Guernier, to Italian giants, AC Milan, before the 18-year-old could even make a single appearance in Davies' first-team squad.

The news follows a period of intense speculation in which Blues reportedly looked to tie the dual nationalist (England / France) to a new contract, whilst the likes of RC Strasbourg and Chelsea were also interested in a deal, as the two clubs are under the BlueCo ownership umbrella.

Guernier made 25 appearances for Birmingham's Under-18s and Under-21s across 2025/26, scoring three times and providing a further three assists.

The youngster, who has been on the club's books since the Under-7s age group, was also named on the bench for the 1-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers on March 11th.

Birmingham City supporters divided as Aurelien Guernier joins AC Milan

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Just 12 months ago, Birmingham's academy at the Knighthead Performance Centre, Wast Hills, was granted category one status after a lengthy observation from the Professional Game Academy Audit Company after three years in the below category two.

This enabled the likes of Guernier to compete in Premier League 2, whilst a section of the club statement at the time read: "Moving up to Category One status means the club’s academy teams will play against some of the best academy sides in the country in the elite games programme, while also being able to attract top talent both regionally and across the UK"

Unsurprisingly, this wasn't lost on one supporter reacting to Guernier's exit.

Davies recently outlined why not many academy players had been drip-fed into the first-team fold at Blues, but it is fair to say that not many share the same opinion.

Another supporter believes such developments is why Birmingham have to nail their upcoming director of football appointment following the exit of Craig Gardner.

He wasn't the only supporter to criticise the club's current outline on developments.

However, not all were left cursing Guernier's exit as they claimed to have never been aware of his progress in the academy.

Another Blues fan was quick to reference the exits of Amari Miller and Trevan Sanusi, with the former still without a club after being released by Leeds United 13 months ago, while the latter is also yet to make a senior appearance in his career after signing for Newcastle United.

Ultimately, nobody knows at this stage whether Blues will live to regret Guernier's exit, and the mixed reaction at this moment in time is certainly understandable.

However, it will certainly be a blow if Guernier is to impress on the continent, especially after Blues spent so long priding themselves on academy development in recent years through the progress made by the likes of Jude and Jobe Bellingham and Jordan James.