It has been a disastrous start to the Sky Bet Championship season for Birmingham City, with the playing squad at St Andrew’s failing to match the expectancy of the club’s board or supporters.  

Harry Redknapp was sacked last month after overseeing Birmingham’s poor start, and his successor, Steve Cotterill, has been tasked with guiding the Blues out of the relegation zone and up the Championship table.

Redknapp oversaw an extremely busy summer, where Birmingham’s club-record transfer fee was broken when signing Jota from Brentford, whilst there were a number of other exciting additions made.

However, the Blues have continued to struggle, and the likelihood is that Cotterill will be active during the January transfer window, as he moulds his own squad.

Here at FLW, we look at a player Cotterill might let leave this January, and also a player we believe Birmingham should be looking to sign at the beginning of 2018…

OUT – Maikel Kieftenbeld 

Birmingham tried to sell Kieftenbeld on deadline day during the summer, but his move to Derby County fell through due to the two clubs not completing the necessary paperwork in time.

Whilst Kieftenbeld has an opportunity to work his way into Cotterill’s plans, the likelihood there will be more interest in the midfielder during the January transfer window.

There is a real possibility that Kieftenbeld’s time with the Blues will not stretch beyond January.

IN – Jack Marriott  

A lot of Birmingham’s problems this season have come because of their defending, but it is obvious that they have not scored enough goals, despite having the likes of Sam Gallagher and Che Adams within their squad.

£135k-rated Marriott, who is currently excelling in League One with Peterborough United, could be the ideal man to come in and help solve Birmingham’s problems.

The 23-year-old is scoring a goal every 106 minutes for Peterborough in League One, and has found the net on nine occasions already this season – two more than the entire Birmingham squad.