Birmingham City news: Chris Davies sack talk, double Celtic transfer link, Sports Quarter update emerges | OneFootball

FLW rounds up the latest news at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park

It has been yet another busy week in the world of Birmingham City, although on the pitch at least, it hasn't been the lead-up to the unrelenting Christmas fixture schedule that the club had hoped for.

Indeed, Blues have failed to build any sort of momentum since the turn of December, accumulating a measly two points from five games so far this month in home games against Watford and Charlton Athletic.

Either side of those two outings at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, there have been three further defeats on the road for the West Midlands outfit, with losses against Southampton and Queens Park Rangers followed up by a 3-0 scoreline at the hands of Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday afternoon.

Many supporters described it afterward as the worst performance served up by Birmingham all season, as they now find themselves 14th in the Championship table, having taken 29 points from their opening 22 league fixtures.

At present, Chris Davies' side are currently six points behind the final play-off place, as they now prepare for two consecutive home fixtures against Derby County and Southampton, with the all-Midlands affair against the Rams and former Blues boss, John Eustace, pencilled in for a 12:30PM kick-off on Boxing Day.

With the Christmas and New Year period so often full of headlines, Football League World have rounded up the latest major developments taking place in this part of the Second City.

Chris Davies sack talk emerges as Birmingham City suffer heavy Sheffield United loss

Blues' inconsistencies throughout the opening four months of the campaign were laid bare at Bramall Lane over the weekend, with the Blades returning to winning ways in comfortable fashion against Davies' side, who have recorded seven of their eight losses so far away from home.

Goals from Tyler Bindon, Gustavo Hamer and Patrick Bamford did the damage for the visitors, who also saw Tommy Doyle mark his return to the Steel City with a red card after 18 minutes.

It has been a hot topic of discussion on the St. Andrew's terraces about what the future holds for Blues as the second half of the campaign looms, and with that, Davies' position as manager.

The 40-year-old has already been the subject of sack talk this campaign after a poor run of form in September and early October, and such reports have resurfaced following Saturday's underwhelming defeat and performance.

Football Insider claim that the upcoming matches against Derby and Southampton will determine if the Blues boss will still be in the hotseat at the turn of the year, and that Knighthead Capital Management are said to be drawing up a shortlist of potential replacements.

Davies currently holds a 63 per cent winning record in his first full-time managerial role, having won 53 of his 84 matches across all competitions.

The upcoming winter transfer window is looking more and more crucial for Blues after each passing game, as Davies looks to bolster his squad which is significantly light on numbers in certain departments.

Throughout his tenure, Blues have not been afraid to tap into the Far-East market, as well as recruiting a plethora of players with connections to the Scottish Premiership.

Having previously recruited Tomoki Iwata directly from Parkhead, Blues were unable to sign his former teammate, Yang-Hyun Jun, in the summer.

It was reported that a £3m deal between the two parties collapsed on Deadline Day in the summer, although the second tier side have since reignited their interest in the Korean winger, who has scored twice in 19 appearances so far this season.

However, Blues were not the only side interested in his services, with Norwich City and Preston North End also interested in the Bhoys wide player, and they are said to have also rekindled their own interest.

In another interesting turn of events, Football Insider have also claimed that Kyogo Furuhashi could make a swift return to Glasgow, with his dismal fortunes so far at Blues already well-documented.

The 23-cap international moved to St. Andrew's for £10m in July, but is yet to score in the league for Birmingham, and hasn't started a Championship clash since September 30th.

Kyogo netted 85 times in 165 previous appearances for Celtic, winning four SPFL titles in the process before departing for Stade Rennais in January.

Image supplied through Grayling

In the lead-up to Christmas, a new update involving the multi-billion pound Sports Quarter project has emerged.

On November 20, Knighthead unveiled the design of Blues' 62,000-seater 'Powerhouse' stadium, which will sit adjacent to brand-new training facilities for the Men's, Women's and Academy sides, as well as a 15,000 to 20,000 arena and a host of retail and commercial developments.

At present, Davies' first team are based at EPIC in Henley-in-Arden, whilst the club's Women's and Academy sides remain based at the former first team training ground of Wast Hills on the edge of Kings Norton, Longbridge and the M42.

With MANICA Design and Heatherwick Studio responsible for the 'Powerhouse' design, the club have since revealed that Populous will create a new training centre as part of the Sports Quarter, in what has been described as a "unique opportunity".