Birmingham City: Tom Wagner may have made £6m transfer blunder and Charlton will laugh | OneFootball

Birmingham City signed August Priske and sold Lyndon Dykes in the January window

Birmingham City's first year back in the Championship looks set to end in disappointment, with the Blues' chances of breaking into the top six looking increasingly slim.

Under the guidance of Chris Davies, Birmingham stormed their way to the League One title, breaking the EFL points record in the process by amassing 111 points.

Understandably, there was a huge degree of expectation placed upon them following promotion, with many expecting Blues to be in and amongst the top six fight for the majority of the campaign, including many Birmingham fans themselves.

However, that hasn't quite been the case, and with just seven games of the season remaining, they need to undergo some incredible form to stand any chance of making their way into the play-offs, sitting ten points off 6th-placed Southampton.

Despite having spent upwards of £50 million across the last two seasons, Birmingham don't look likely to achieve their target this time around, and should they indeed be playing second-tier football next year, this campaign can be written off as a huge disappointment.

The January window provided Davies with an opportunity to bring in some more recruits across the board, though his decision to bring in a striker and sell one to a Championship rival could well have backfired.

Birmingham City signed August Priske from Djurgarden and sold Lyndon Dykes to Charlton Athletic

As the January transfer window rolled around, Davies and Birmingham meant business. At that point, the play-offs remained a real possibility, and Blues' ownership backed the head coach with six new arrivals.

The likes of Kai Wagner, Jonathan Panzo, Ibrahim Osman, Carlos Vicente, and Jhon Solis all joined alongside the £6 million arrival of Danish forward August Priske from Swedish side Djurgarden.

Priske, 22, scored 18 and assisted twice in 27 league games last season in Sweden, as Birmingham fended off interest from the likes of Lille, Besiktas, and RB Salzburg to secure his signature.

It was hoped that, upon his arrival, he would slot seamlessly into the centre-forward role and offer serious competition for Marvin Ducksch and Jay Stansfield up top, but that has yet to be the case.

Priske has made ten league appearances since he joined, though just three of those have been starts, as Ducksch has more often than not been preferred from the get-go.

Yet to find the back of the net, it has not quite been the impact Blues fans would have been hoping for from their new £6 million striker, especially considering the fact that they sold Lyndon Dykes to Charlton Athletic in the same window.

Dykes spent 18 months at St Andrews and was more often than not used as an impact sub under Davies, scoring just three and assisting once in 46 league games for the club across League One and the Championship.

But since his move to The Valley, the Scottish international already has two goals and three assists in 13 league games for the Addicks, already surpassing his total output for Birmingham.

With Priske struggling and Dykes thriving, it will come as a huge frustration to Blues fans with the way things have panned out, as, despite him still being only 22, more was expected of the Dane at this stage, and Davies must take some of the criticism for his lack of form.

Chris Davies may have made a transfer blunder in the decision to sell Lyndon Dykes and sign August Priske

Davies has come under increased scrutiny this campaign at Birmingham, and it's not hard to understand why.

Any team in the EFL that spends upwards of £50 million over the past two years must be fighting in the upper echelons of their division, and Davies' inability to guide Birmingham to that stage has frustrated many Blues supporters, who would have been hoping for more.

With their away record being particularly poor, many have cited the Englishman's perceived lack of a plan B as the crux of his problem at the helm, with his slow, high-possession style of play not always suited for playing on the road.

The sale of Dykes and his subsequent success will only continue to reflect poorly on Davies, who may well have misused the Scot and failed to get the best out of him during his stay at St Andrews.

For his sake, he must find a way to start getting the best out of Priske to ensure a similar error is not made.

Time is on the Dane's side, however, and though his time in England has started slowly, there is still every chance he can become a success at Birmingham, though whether that will be under Davies remains to be seen.