What Chris Davies said about Marvin Ducksch as Birmingham City exit links swirl | OneFootball

The German forward has become the subject of recent exit talk at St. Andrew's

Birmingham City have eight matches remaining in the Championship this season, with it looking increasingly likely that Chris Davies may need to reshuffle his squad further in the summer to mount a serious promotion bid.

Blues have generated plenty of attention over recent times when it comes down to developments of any kind at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, with the club's American investors setting out the clear end goal of a return to the Premier League.

As a result, there was a strong sense of expectation placed on the shoulders of Davies and his squad in this part of the West Midlands to immediately challenge at the top end of the table.

For many reasons, that hasn't quite happened, although a current position of 10th - as recently highlighted by the Blues boss - would demonstrate the strides of progress which have been made in some form, as it would still represent Birmingham's highest finish since 2015/16 under Gary Rowett.

A record-breaking spend during Davies' first season at the club which saw them coast to the League One title was still backed up further across the current campaign's two transfer windows, though, only adding to the expectation levels.

14 new players were added to the Blues squad in the summer, before Davies and his recruitment team conducted a major overhaul in January, which saw multiple fringe players replaced by the likes of August Priske, Jhon Solis and Carlos Vicente.

It remains to be seen what business occurs in B9 this summer, but Davies has now spoken up on Marvin Ducksch's situation, as the German forward has become the subject of intriguing exit talk.

Chris Davies makes admission on Birmingham City's Marvin Ducksch amid AEK Athens, Real Sociedad transfer links

In a bid to bolster his attacking options, Davies saw Blues move for Ducksch's services from Werder Bremen in August for a £1.75m sum on a three-year contract.

The two-time German international's start to life in the Second City would be hampered by fitness issues from a limited pre-season, meaning he would wait until the 4-1 win over Norwich City on November 22nd to open his account for the club with a brace.

All of Birmingham's attacking options have been the subject of criticism at various points of the season, with Ducksch joined on that particular front by Jay Stansfield and Kyogo Furuhashi, in particular.

However, the 32-year-old is now the club's top scorer with 11 goals in 32 appearances across all competitions after a sublime free-kick against Sheffield United.

Less than a day later, it emerged that the attacker has been the subject of interest from clubs in Germany, the MLS and AEK Athens and Real Sociedad of the Greek Super League and La Liga respectively.

Whilst such exit talk has come to the fore, Davies has continued to praise Ducksch's impact, saying: "He isn't that all-action player that you constantly notice in a game, he can look like he's not involved and then he can pop up.

"If he gets a chance, he's good finisher. He's scored goals when he's got chances. He's got that extra bit of quality.

"Around the box, that little moment of quality - they are things I can't get away from," Davies added.

"They change games and we've got make sure we keep a hold of that and fit things around them."

Birmingham City's forward line could be reshuffled in the summer

The exit talk surrounding Ducksch has certainly split opinion, with Davies' comments also reflecting exactly why that is the case, as the attacker can be anonymous for large parts of an encounter but still provide a turning point.

As such, it could prove detrimental for Blues to let the striker leave in the summer, albeit some of the clubs interested do currently play in a top division in their respective country, something which his current employers may not be able to offer if their inconsistencies continue.

Furthermore, Ducksch's exit could be part of a major reshuffle of Birmingham's attack this summer, with Kyogo, who hasn't justified the hype which surrounded his summer switch from Stade Rennais, continuing to also be the subject of departure-themed discourse.