Birmingham City are going to be facing a crucial period in their season in the run-up to the January transfer window where they will aim to keep themselves in touch with the top-six.

Lee Bowyer’s side went into the international break off the back of a frustrating 2-1 defeat at home to Reading that meant they failed to extend their four-game winning run in the Championship. That result leaves the Blues in 15th place in the table, but they are only sat four points adrift of the play-off places.

The Blues will get the chance in the winter window to potentially make some further additions to their squad, while they could also face the prospect of also losing one or two key members of their side heading into the New Year.

That is going to make the winter window a very interesting one for Birmingham, but they need to ensure that before then they keep on picking up results to ensure that any moves they make in January will be done with a chance of the top-six still there.

With all that in mind, we take a look at some of the transfer talking points that are surrounding the Blues heading into the winter window…

Birmingham risk losing Dion Sanderson to Wolves recall

One player that Birmingham managed to sign in the summer who has made a real impact for them after taking some time to force his way into the side is Dion Sanderson. The centre-back has been crucial to an upturn in form for the Blues of late with him stepping into their back three.

Sanderson is a player that has a lot of potential and the Blues pulled of a coup when they beat off other sides to sign him on loan from Wolves in the summer.

Bowyer is managing to get the best out of Sanderson at the moment and he has helped the Blues record three clean sheets in his eight Championship appearances to date.

However, according to a recent update from The Athletic, Wolves could consider potentially recalling the defender during the January transfer window. That is because Bruno Lage’s side are set to lose both Romain Saiss and Willy Boly to the Africa Cup of Nations in the New Year with Morocco and Ivory Coast likely to have them in their respective squads.

The Athletic’s report has suggested that Wolves are not likely to spend big in the winter window to replace those two, so a recall for Sanderson is something that they could decide to do to ensure they have enough cover at the back.

There is though always the chance that Wolves could figure out a way that would mean Birmingham could keep Sanderson for the second half of the campaign, but time will tell on that.

 

 

Riley McGree's prospects of remaining at St Andrews looking slim

Another Birmingham player that has been crucial to their recent upturn in results has been Riley McGree. He has taken his chance to establish himself in the starting line-up in the last few games and has added some much-needed extra creativity to the Blues in the final third.

McGree has so far managed to score two goals in his seven Championship appearances this term, while he has also been averaging 2.1 shots and 1.3 key passes per game. That has seen him play a huge role in helping to make the Blues a more dangerous side and losing him would be a major blow for Bowyer.

Despite that, Bowyer has recently admitted to the media that it is not looking likely that Birmingham will be able to sign McGree on a permanent deal in the January transfer window.

As a result, it seems that the attacking midfielder is set to make a return to Charlotte FC in the winter window and bring an end to his loan spell at St Andrews. Should that happen then the Blues are going to have to work very hard to try and find a replacement.