Demarai Gray could leave Birmingham City - 5 stars could follow | OneFootball

FLW has looked at the players who appear most likely to leave Blues this summer

Birmingham City's recent recruitment drives under the finances of Knighthead Capital Management have certainly been intriguing, even though success hasn't always necessarily followed.

Tom Wagner took over the club three years ago, and has overseen a dramatic rise in terms of ambition and expectancy, as well as feats on the pitch with a relegation to League One followed by an immediate return to the Championship in record-breaking fashion.

Chris Davies is now gearing up for his third season as manager, and after being heavily backed by the American in the transfer market, the current summer window is set to be crucial if Blues are to realise their short-term ambitions of promotion to the Premier League.

However, whilst Jhon Solis' switch from Girona FC has been made permanent, several players have been the subject of exit talk.

That list now includes one-time academy graduate and Jamaican international, Demarai Gray, who scored five times and provided six assists in 39 games.

Fabrizio Romano claims that the 29-year-old has an exit clause, which can be triggered until July 10th, and, unsurprisingly, has alerted a multitude of clubs.

This means the experienced winger's return to the Second City may only last one year, and FLW have looked at those who also appear likely to head through the exit door this summer.

Lee Buchanan

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The first of six names comes in the form of Lee Buchanan, who hasn't played a competitive game since December 2024, where he suffered an unfortunate ACL injury against Blackpool.

At the time of his initial transfer from Werder Bremen three years ago, the 25-year-old signed a five-year contract, but at this stage, many would feel it would take a remarkable turn of events for the left-back to gain regular minutes at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, especially considering the impact of January addition, Kai Wagner.

As such, if Birmingham were to recoup a respectable fee for the former Derby County man, a parting of ways looks to be the best move for all parties in this scenario, allowing Buchanan to rebuild his career, hopefully, injury-free.

Taylor Gardner-Hickman

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Next up is the versatile Taylor Gardner-Hickman, who spent the season on loan with divisional rivals, Blackburn Rovers, after seeing a prior loan from Bristol City turned permanent.

The 24-year-old was an initial mainstay in the side under Valerien Ismael at Ewood Park and earned praise for his contributions as a result, meaning there was an expectancy his loan in East Lancashire would be turned permanent itself.

However, it has since been claimed that the Telford-born man is set to report for pre-season training with Birmingham at the end of the month.

That said, it is hard to see Gardner-Hickman fully forcing his way back into the reckoning for Blues, such are the options at Davies' disposal, meaning a move elsewhere appears the likely course of action.

Scott Wright

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Scott Wright was signed in August 2024 from Rangers, and despite not featuring from the start in every game, made some rather important contributions in Birmingham's record-breaking 2024/25 campaign.

That was until he also suffered the misfortune of an ACL injury in a goalless draw at Reading 16 months ago, which kept him sidelined until the last month of 2025.

Wright did make a handful of matchday squads in January, but amid the permanent signing of Patrick Roberts and Carlos Vicente's switch from Deportivo Alaves, was sent on loan to Dundee FC.

However, with more injury issues, the 28-year-old was only able to make 10 appearances and score one goal, although a permanent exit from St. Andrew's looks set to be on the agenda.

Kanya Fujimoto

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Kanya Fujimoto's move to the West Midlands on a free transfer after leaving Liga Portugal outfit, Gil Vicente, simply hasn't worked, leaving an exit likely just one year later.

The Japanese playmaker's pre-season preparation was impacted by fitness issues, but he only went on to make eight appearances across all competitions.

None of those outings came through an appearance in the starting lineup, though, with Fujimoto's sole 45 minutes of Championship action coming in a dramatic, yet intensely frustrating 2-2 draw against Sheffield Wednesday in September.

revealed that he planned to give the 26-year-old more minutes.

Marvin Ducksch

Rounding off this list of six potential departees is German striker, Marvin Ducksch, who was signed from Werder Bremen for £1.75m on a three-year deal.

At times, it has been clear to see why the forward earned two caps for Germany, particularly from November onwards, when his goalscoring exploits got off and running - eventually ending it as the club's joint-top scorer in the Championship with 11 strikes.

However, after being the subject of exit talk in March, Ducksch's off-field antics, which saw him fined £16,000 and banned from driving for 14 months after causing a serious three-vehicle crash on Easter Monday, the 32-year-old has, again, been linked with a move away.

It has been reported that the attacker has a non-promotion release clause worth just €1m (£860,000), and this has alerted the likes of Bundesliga outfit, FC Augsburg, less than one year after penning a fairly long contract in B9, which would see Blues record a frustrating loss on his services.