Birmingham City manager Lee Bowyer has suggested that the Blues wanted to sign a midfielder in the summer and they could now revisit that position during the January transfer window.

The Blues managed to enjoy a productive summer window in the main and strengthened the squad in key positions that needed addressing.

That did include the addition of Ryan Woods, who arrived from Stoke City following his loan spell at Millwall last term.

The Blues also even made a late summer transfer window move for Troy Deeney after he became available to sign following his departure from Watford.

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The recruitment over the summer though left them potentially a little short of options in midfield. The Blues have just Woods, Ivan Sunjic and the now suspended Gary Gardner as senior players to call upon in that area of the field.

 

 

Speaking to Birmingham Live, Bowyer admitted that the midfield area is a position that the Blues wanted to further strengthen in the summer but they had to sacrifice that with Deeney’s arrival at the club.

While he also suggested that the Blues could look to strengthen the midfield area again in January.

He said: “Yes it was (a position we tried to strengthen in the summer).

“Yes (Birmingham could look to add a midfielder in January) but I said we had to cut back a little bit and that was something we had to sacrifice. We bought Troy and strengthened that area which also needed strengthening.

“Sometimes you have to take a hit somewhere and that was the position we chose to do it, knowing we have got some good young lads in the background.

“And three seniors whose fitness and injury record is pretty good. It’s not like Gary’s injured. He’s suspended. These are the things that happen in the season, you just hope they don’t all come all at once.”

The verdict

It is vital that Birmingham do manage to address the midfield area of their squad in the January transfer window you feel. It would be too much of a risk to try and go through the full campaign with only three senior midfield options available to Bowyer.

Woods and Sunjic are going to be the only two options available to Bowyer, while Gardner is suspended after his red card at Peterborough United.

That makes it difficult for him to be able to make a change now in that position if something happens to either of his two available players in that position.

If Birmingham are in a strong position in the Championship table by the winter transfer window, then surely they have to back Bowyer with the funds he would need to add one more midfielder to ensure that there is enough depth there to sustain a promotion bid.