Birmingham City have endured an inconsistent year, with the Blues starting the year with a 1-1 draw away at Sheffield Wednesday, as Garry Monk guided the club to a 17^th placed finish last term.

The Blues could have ended the season higher in the table had they not suffered a nine-point deduction, and Monk left St Andrews in the summer, with Pep Clotet taking over as the club’s caretaker head coach before being offered the role on a permanent basis following an encouraging start to the campaign.

Clotet will be looking to add to his squad during the January transfer window to help the Blues re-find some more consistent form having won just one of their last eight Championship matches - and Birmingham will be needing to find some extra creativity and goals in the final third.

Birmingham will also be needing to add some extra solidity to their defence and potentially a new number one goalkeeper, with Lee Camp making a few high profile mistakes which has led to him being dropped in favour of Connal Trueman in recent weeks.

Here then, we take a look at EIGHT players who Birmingham should target ahead of the January transfer window...

Craig MacGillivray has established himself as Portsmouth’s number one keeper having arrived at the club in the summer of 2018, and the 26-year-old was instrumental in the club’s run to the League One play-off semi-finals last term, making 48 appearances for Kenny Jackett’s side.

The keeper has again been a key performer for Portsmouth so far this campaign, with MacGillivray helping the club concede just 24 goals in their opening 19 League One matches.

Clarke-Harris has been in good form for Bristol Rovers so far this campaign, having registered eight goals in just 11 appearances in League One so far this season, helping the club establish themselves in the division’s play-off places.

That has seen him continue his prolific form from last season, where he scored 11 goals in 16 appearances after joining Bristol Rovers from Coventry City in January, although he has suffered problems with calf injuries so far this term.

Another striker that Birmingham could consider is Burnley’s Matej Vydra, with the striker only making five appearances for the Clarets so far this campaign, having also struggled to establish himself in Sean Dyche’s side last campaign.

Vydra was the Championship’s top scorer during his last season at Derby County having scored 21 goals in the 2017/18 campaign, and he could be an ideal striker for the Blues to bring in January to help bolster their attacking output.

Birmingham do have a lot of players capable of playing in the wide positions, but the Blues have at times this season lacked creativity in the final third, and one player who could help to solve that is Marcus Maddison, who has registered nine goals and six assists for Peterborough United so far this term.

Maddison has shown he has the potential to make the step up to the Championship, having registered double figures for assists in each of the last four seasons in League One.

Another goalkeeper that Birmingham could consider in January is Bournemouth’s Asmir Begovic, who is currently out on loan at Azerbaijan side Qarabag having fallen out of favour under Eddie Howe during the second half of last season after making a few mistakes in the first half of the campaign.

The 32-year-old still offers vast experience and will be eager to get his career back on track when he returns to Bournemouth from his loan spell in January, and a move to Birmingham could help him get regular game time.

Birmingham could also consider a move for Newcastle United forward Dwight Gayle, who has found game time limited under Steve Bruce so far this campaign, having made just five appearances for the Magpies so far this term.

Gayle though did enjoy an excellent season on loan at West Brom last term, netting 24 goals in the Championship for the club and that could make him a brilliant addition for the Blues.

Birmingham could also consider a potential loan move for Liverpool’s Rhian Brewster, with the 19-year-old struggling to force his way into Jurgen Klopp’s starting line-up, due to the talent in front of him in Liverpool’s first team.

Brewster could therefore benefit from a loan move away from Anfield, and with the Blues in need of a more mobile striker the 19-year-old could well be a decent option for them to consider in January.

Another goalkeeper that Birmingham could consider making a move for in January is Burnley’s Joe Hart, who has found himself behind Nick Pope, and that could mean that the 32-year-old could be willing to move on January to get some regular game time.

Hart has already enjoyed a season at Birmingham on loan from Manchester City in 2009/10, and the experienced stopper could be tempted with a move back to St Andrews, although he would probably ideally like to make a move to a top-flight club.