Birmingham City: Kyogo Furuhashi transfer coup is surely not good news for 29-year-old at St. Andrew's | OneFootball

Lyndon Dykes has plenty of Championship experience, but it seems that Birmingham City have outgrown last summer's arrival already

Birmingham City's strikeforce improved significantly with the arrival of Kyogo Furuhashi, with the 2024/25 League One top scorers aiming to once again be a force in front of goal in the second tier.

Furuhashi was one of Celtic's more dangerous front-men before his move to Stade Rennais in January, which stalled his career slightly, but many believe that he'll be able to refind his goalscoring knack sooner rather than later in the Championship.

Furuhashi joins a frontline at Birmingham which boasts the likes of England U21 star and Blues £15 million project Jay Stansfield, Alfie May, who has become one of the most prolific third-tier scorers in the last four seasons, and also Scotland number nine Lyndon Dykes.

However, whilst having depth across the squad is useful throughout a long 46-game season, acquiring so much quality can often lead to players wanting out as their own career begins to stall.

And having dropped to the third-tier just to be made a third-choice option, former QPR man Dykes may look for a way out as he aims to once again be one of the first names on the team sheet.

Lyndon Dykes' gametime at Birmingham City was limited in League One

Lyndon Dykes was the starting striker at QPR for all four seasons he was at Loftus Road before he made the move to Birmingham City last summer.

Having signed three days before the Blues announced the arrival of Stansfield, the Scotsman likely saw a move down to League One to play for Birmingham as an attractive offer, in a way to be the main striker in a side with a higher ceiling in the short term, despite being in a lower division at the time.

But, the arrival of Stansfield put a swift end to that idea, and instead of battling with just Alfie May for the starting striker role, Dykes now had to contest with the 2023/24 League One top scorer and a £15 million arrival for the sole spot.

As May continued his rich vein of form in front of goal to begin the season, he was often preferred ahead of Dykes, and the 29-year-old struggled to dislodge both May and Stansfield out of the starting 11.

In the end, Dykes started just 12 games in all competitions, with his sole league goal coming in an important top of the table clash against Wrexham in January.

His role as a backup was arguably cemented in February's FA Cup Fourth Round matchup with Newcastle United. After starting the previous two rounds against fellow League One opposition in Blackpool and Lincoln City, Dykes found himself once again on the bench as Chris Davies opted for a stronger line-up.

Dykes last played in late February against Reading, with a calf injury keeping him out for the rest of the season, and it could be likely that new arrivals this summer will mean that was the last time he played for his current club.

Kyogo Furuhashi arrival will limit Lyndon Dykes' game-time even further at Birmingham City

The signing of Kyogo Furuhashi will likely see the Japanese international become the new starting striker at St Andrews, with Jay Stansfield to operate just behind him if Chris Davies once again opts for just one recognised striker this season.

But, you'd expect that Stansfield would slot in if Furuhashi was unavailable at points during the season, which means that both Alfie May and Lyndon Dykes will be competing for the third-choice role ahead of August's opener against Ipswich Town.

Whilst Dykes has a plethora of Championship appearances that May has yet to experience, and he also offers something different to any other striker option in the squad physically, you get the feeling that, going off of last season's usage and numbers in front of goal, Davies may opt to use May more from the bench than Dykes this season.

So, if the Scot does end up being reduced to a fourth option in his position, then a move away would benefit him hugely.

And even if Dykes remained third choice over May, the 29-year-old may still look to move away as he surely believes he can still be the focal point of attacks for a Championship side following his time at QPR.

Lyndon Dykes may have been looking for a way out of Birmingham this summer anyway, and the arrival of Kyogo Furuhashi will only serve to increase the likelihood of that happening.