The condition that will see Birmingham City make new move for Leandro Barreiro and Mario Stroeykens | OneFootball

Blues' future transfer plans are set to hinge on what happens during this Championship campaign

After two summers of eye-catching transfer dealings under the ownership of Knighthead Capital Management, Birmingham City could be set for more of the same at the conclusion of the current campaign.

Blues owner Tom Wagner put the spotlight firmly on the club this time 12 months ago after breaking the club and League One transfer record to acquire Jay Stansfield on a permanent basis from Fulham, before such a trend continued upon Chris Davies' side's return to the Championship.

Prior to the season getting underway, the 40-year-old was able to add the likes of James Beadle, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Phil Neumann, Tommy Doyle, Demarai Gray and Kyogo Furuhashi to his squad, before further bolstering all departments with the latter captures of Marvin Ducksch, Eiran Cashin, Lewis Koumas, Patrick Roberts and Jack Robinson.

As such, there is an exciting blend of continental and youthful flair on top of many seasoned Championship campaigners which have boosted an already competent squad which broke a whole host of records en route to the third-tier title last term.

Given the club's current reputation in England and overseas, largely down to the presence of Wagner and minority stakeholder, Tom Brady, it was no surprise to see many more high-profile names linked with moves to B9 across the summer.

Two, in particular, caught the eye, and although they didn't materialise, an exciting midfield duo could move to the West Midlands next summer on one condition.

Birmingham City could rekindle Leandro Barriero and Mario Stroeykens interest on key Championship condition

It was reported by the Daily Mail in late June that Blues were plotting a number of high-profile acquisitions following their first-time promotion back to the Championship, with the aforementioned Wagner also expressing his desire, within interviews, to see back-to-back promotions achieved.

The aforementioned report claimed that Benfica midfielder and Luxembourg international, Leandro Barreiro, was among one of the names pursued by Blues' recruitment team during the off-season, and that contact had been made towards the 25-year-old and his representatives.

After joining from FC Mainz on a free transfer in 2024, Barreiro enjoyed a fine season at the Estadio Da Luz, which culminated with two goals during the FIFA Club World Cup in a 6-0 success over Auckland City, featuring in all four of his side's encounters before being knocked out by eventual winners, Chelsea.

At the time, the Mail reported that the midfielder - who is ESTIMATED to be earning €48,007 per week - made his ambitions of featuring at the highest level for as long as possible rather clear, having previously been linked with the likes of Nottingham Forest and Everton.

A fresh report from the same publication has since referenced that conversations held between Birmingham and the 63-time international came to no avail, although a move could be revisited if Davies' side were to achieve a second promotion in as many seasons, ending a 15-year exile from the Premier League in the process.

The same has also been said for Anderlecht midfielder, Mario Stroeykens. The 20-year-old international was reluctant to leave the Belgian Pro League side for the Championship outfit amid a glowing reputation that has previously caught the eye of West Ham United and top-flight newcomers, Leeds United.

Both Barreiro and Stroeykens have also made steady starts to the current campaign for their respective European top-flight sides which, in turn, is only likely to increase the number of potential suitors.

Blues have given themselves and Davies the tools to mount a sustained bid for the play-offs at least, which would represent a highest league finish since the 2011/12 campaign, with some also tipping the newly-promoted side to achieve automatic promotion and emulate Ipswich Town's prior success under Kieran McKenna.

The B9 outfit have had a respectable start to the season, although they suffered back-to-back defeats under Davies for the first time with extremely disappointing and frustrating performances against Port Vale and Leicester City in the EFL Cup and league respectively.

There is a school of thought that the best is very much yet to come from this Birmingham side, who have now had two weeks to largely gel amongst each other with the flurry of new signings, whilst the break has allowed the likes of Gray, Ducksch and Stansfield to get up to speed after respective injury knocks.

It would remain to be seen what fees Wagner would have to part with in a bid to lure Barreiro and Stroeykens if promotion was achieved, but those in the boardroom would certainly look to do as much persuading as possible, especially with the club's plans for the years to come, including the Sports Quarter.