Birmingham City look on course now to secure their survival in the Championship with Lee Bowyer having done an excellent job since taking over from Aitor Karanka.

It seemed at one stage prior to Bowyer’s arrival that the Blues were almost sleepwalking their way to League One football next term. However, the former Charlton Athletic boss has come into the club and transformed their mentality and ability to grind out results. That was on show during their massive 1-0 win away at Rotherham United on Sunday.

Bowyer will now have had the chance to assess the options he has available to him in Birmingham’s squad and he can now look to plan more towards next season. That will involve identifying which players he feels are worth keeping hold of and trying to develop and which could be free to leave St Andrews.

With that in mind, we have looked at the current squad and ranked the ten players who have seen the largest market value increases since they signed for the club. All values and value increases are according to Transfermarkt

Kicking off this list is defender Marc Roberts who has seen his transfer market valuation increase by around £270,000 since he was signed by the Blues on a five-year deal from Barnsley in the summer of 2017.

Roberts had a transfer valuation of around £1.35 million when he joined the Blues, according to Transfermarkt. The defender is now said to be worth around £1.62 million in the current market. That comes after he has established himself as a key member of the Blues back four and managed to make well over 100 appearances for the club since his debut.

The 30-year-old has really returned to form since Bowyer took over and he has now managed to register three goals and two assists in his 33 league appearances and has also helped the Blues record nine clean sheets.

This might be something of a surprising entry into this list considering he has not had that much impact at St Andrews so far, but Sam Cosgrove’s market valuation, according to Transfermarkt, has increased by around £450,000 since his arrival in January.

Cosgrove was signed by the Blues in the recent January transfer window to try and provide some extra options upfront and some much-needed goals. The forward has yet to start for Birmingham in the league and he has failed to score in any of his ten sub appearances to date. However, he has only been given an average of 11 minutes per game to impress.

Next season is really the campaign where Cosgrove will be judged at St Andrews, he needs a strong pre-season to convince Bowyer of his qualities. His market valuation rise might be down to the fact he is now operating in a more financially powerful league in terms of the Championship compared with the Scottish top-flight.

Another Birmingham forward who has also seen his transfer market valuation, according to Transfermarkt, increase by around £450,000 since he joined the club is Lukas Jutkiewicz.

The powerful centre-forward has earned a place in high esteem amongst Birmingham supporters for the way he has performed for the Blues since he joined the club from Burnley on a permanent basis for a fee of around £1 million in January 2017. Jutkiewicz has since gone on to register 52 goals for the club and 50 of those have come in the Championship.

It has recently been reported by Birmingham Mail that the forward has signed a new deal with the club that will keep him at St Andrews until 2024. That is just rewards for a player who has grown into a very important performer during his time with the club.

Coming in at seventh place on this list is Ivan Sanchez, who is another one of their more recent signings to have seen an increase in his market valuation since arriving. According to Transfermarkt, his value has risen by around £495,000.

Sanchez was signed by Karanka in the last summer transfer window from Elche, and he has gone on to make 37 appearances in the Championship for the Blues in which he has scored two goals and provided five assists. He still has some work to do to really establish himself as a crucial member of the side, but he has shown flashes of his ability.

Bowyer will be looking for him to show a little bit more when he gives him chances to play, he is a player that can make a difference in the final third. The attacker needs to show next term that he can find more consistency to his performances.

Another player who has seen his valuation rise by around £495,000, according to Transfermarkt, since he returned to St Andrews in the summer is Jon Toral.

That rise in valuation might come as a surprise considering he has endured a tough campaign back at Birmingham. The attacking midfielder had managed to enjoy an impressive season on loan with the Blues during the 2015/16 campaign, when he registered eight goals and three assists in his 36 league appearances.

So far this term, he has only made ten starts for the Blues and 16 appearances in total in which he has scored two goals and provided one assist. Bowyer has now revealed that he is out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury. He is out of contract in the summer and is therefore facing an uncertain future.

In at fifth place on this list is defender Maxime Colin who has seen his valuation rise by around £900,000, according to Transfermarkt, since he arrived at St Andrews.

Colin has been an astute signing for the Blues since he made the move from Brentford in the summer of 2017 and signed a four-year deal at the time. The defender has gone on to establish himself as a vital part of the side under a number of managers. He has managed to make well over 150 appearances for the club now.

So far this term, Colin has managed to register one goal and two assists in his 40 league appearances and it seems he will be a key player under Bowyer as he builds for next term.

One of three players who have seen their transfer valuations rise by around £1.35 million since joining the Blues, according to Transfermarkt, is midfielder Ivan Sunjic.

That might be something of a surprise considering he was brought in for a reported £6 million in the summer of 2019. The Croatian has been a solid enough performer at St Andrews but has at times not looked like a player worth the amount of money they spent on him. Having said that he has had to adapt to a new league and also not been helped by the number of managerial changes.

The 24-year-old managed to make 40 appearances in the Championship last season and also managed to score three goals during that time. While so far this term, he has made 40 appearances as well in the league. If Bowyer can get the best out of him then there is certainly a player in there.

Another player who has managed to see his transfer valuation rise by around £1.35 million, according to Transfermarkt, since they arrived at the club is forward Jérémie Bela.

Bela was signed by the Blues as something of an unknown quantity back in 2019, but he managed to make an instant impression at St Andrews last term. The forward added a lot of directness to their attack and finished that season with two goals and seven assists from his 30 appearances. That has been followed up by a further three goals and six assists in 34 appearances this term.

It will be interesting to see whether Bela will be someone that Bowyer views as having a key part to play within his side moving forwards. He should be in contention but might need a strong pre-season to fully put himself in the new managers thoughts.

The third player at the moment at St Andrews who has currently seen his market valuation rise by around £1.35 million, according to Transfermarkt, is defender Harlee Dean since he made the move to Birmingham.

Dean has managed to become a key player for the Blues since he arrived at Birmingham in the summer of 2017 from Brentford. The 29-year-old has been an important part of the squad under a range of different managers during his time at St Andrews. He has come under some scrutiny at times for his performances, but he always continues to give his all for the club.

The defender has been an improved performer for the Blues since Bowyer took over and he has managed to help play a crucial part in helping them get out of trouble. He looks set to play a key role for them moving forwards under their new manager.

Currently the player in Birmingham’s squad whose valuation in the market has increased the most since he arrived at St Andrews is defender Kristian Pedersen.

Pedersen’s valuation, according to Transfermarkt, has managed to increase by around £2.25 million over the course of the last few years. The left-back arrived at St Andrews in the summer of 2018 and he has managed to be a key performer in each of his three campaigns with the club to date under a few different managers.

The 26-year-old has so far this term managed to make 32 appearances for the Blues and he has scored one goal and provided two assists. It will be interesting to see what his long-term future holds and whether he will be a key part of the side in the next few years under Bowyer.