With the January transfer window now little more than a month away, Birmingham City may soon have some big decisions to make on a number of their current players.

One such individual they find themselves in that position with is Jeremie Bela, who is set to be out of contract at St Andrew's come the end of this season.

As a result, there may well be some speculation over the future of the left-sided 28-year-old once the market reopens at the turn of the year.

So with that in mind, we've taken a look here, at the arguments for Birmingham selling or keeping Bela, beyond the January transfer window.

Sell

With Bela now well into the final year of his contract at Birmingham, it could be argued that selling Bela in January could make financial sense for the Blues.

That way, they would be able to at least receive some sort of fee for the 28-year-old - which could be reinvested in the squad or other areas of the club - rather than lose him for nothing in the summer.

The summer signing of Jordan Graham does also mean that Birmingham have other options on the left going forward, who can make an impact in the Championship.

Allowing Bela to move on could help the club to get more of a return on their investment with Graham, who at 26-years-old, could fill that void for some time to come yet.

Keep

One important attribute of Bela's that Birmingham risk losing if they are to let him go, is the versatility he possesses.

Bela has in recent times that he can operate as a wing-back as well as a winger, and his departure could restrict Lee Bowyer's scope to rotate between the two systems should he wish to do so.

It is also worth noting that Bowyer does still seem to view Bela as an important part of his side, with the Angolan international having started 13 of Birmingham's 17 league games so far this season.

Letting him go in January would therefore leave the Blues with something of a void to fill in their starting lineup, something which is not always easy to do during the more hectic nature of the shorter winter window.