Birmingham City are currently putting plans in place to attack the Championship after they were promoted as champions of League One with 111 points.
The Blues wrapped up their 111-point league title success with a 2-1 win against Cambridge United away from home on the final day of the season earlier this month.
Chris Davies and his staff, working alongside the owners, will now be working towards the goal of building a squad that can compete for promotion to the Premier League.
Ipswich Town, albeit they have been relegated from the top-flight this term, have already shown that it is possible to do back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League.
Davies may have to be incredibly ruthless with who he decides should and should not come along for the ride in the Championship, after his players helped him to an incredible season in League One.
One star whose suitability for the second tier is still in question is experienced centre-forward Alfie May, who has just enjoyed a fantastic year in the third tier.
Why Alfie May could be dropped as a starter
The 31-year-old attacker started 27 matches in League One in the 2024/25 campaign, but the step up to the Championship could see him reduced to a cameo role off the bench, or even in need of looking elsewhere for game time.
May turns 32 this summer and has not played a minute of Championship football in his career, playing in League Two or League One throughout his entire professional career to date.
The English centre-forward joined Birmingham from Charlton on a permanent deal in the summer transfer window last year and enjoyed an impressive debut season at St. Andrew’s.
Appearances
44
Goals
16
Big chances missed
13
Big chances created
7
Assists
8
Ground duel success rate
43%
Aerial duel success rate
10%
As you can see in the table above, May racked up 24 goals and assists combined in 44 appearances in League One, and scored more goals than he missed ‘big chances’, which shows that the forward was an effective finisher at the top end of the pitch.
However, his lack of strength in duels, particularly in the air, may be why Championship teams have not taken a chance on him in the past, and why Birmingham could drop him as a starter heading into next season.
The Blues could swoop to sign an upgrade on him in the upcoming summer transfer window, as they have been linked with an interest in an international forward.
Birmingham eyeing deal for Serie A striker
According to journalist Graeme Bailey, Birmingham City are eyeing up a deal to sign Che Adams from Serie A side Torino ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
The Scotland international signed for the Italian club on a free transfer from Southampton last summer, and the Blues are now hoping to tempt him back to England.
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Speaking to EFL Analysis, the journalist said: “I think Che Adams is one who’s on Birmingham’s list. He does tick the boxes. Obviously, he’s been there before. Knows the club. Obviously be very expensive in the Championship. We know that. So let’s see how that one goes. But yeah, they do want another striker.
“I’m not sure how much he wants to drop to Championship. I don’t really think he’s that keen on dropping to the Championship, but there are options there. If it’s a long-term thing for Birmingham, I do think that’s an option for him certainly.”
These comments from Bailey suggest that it will be a difficult deal to do for the striker, who is valued at £13m by FootballTransfers, for financial and footballing reasons.
However, it could be a fantastic signing for Davies and his staff if the club are able to thrash out a transfer that would bring Adams back for a second spell at Birmingham.
Why Che Adams would be an upgrade on Alfie May
The Blues could secure a big upgrade on the aforementioned Alfie May by signing the experienced centre-forward from Torino in the summer transfer window because of his proven quality at Championship level.
Adams has been there and done it in the second tier, including in a Birmingham City shirt, and has scored goals at an even higher level in the Premier League and in the Serie A.
The 28-year-old star, who manager Paolo Vanoli described as the “perfect player”, has scored nine goals in the Italian top-flight this season, and scored 25 times in the Premier League for Southampton earlier in his career.
These statistics show that Adams has already proven himself at a much higher level than the Championship, whilst May is yet to prove himself above League One.
The Torino striker has also proven his quality in the second tier in England in his last two seasons at that level with Southampton and with Birmingham back in the 2018/19 campaign.
Appearances
46
40
Starts
43
25
Goals
22
16
Big chances missed
11
11
Big chances created
6
7
Assists
4
4
As you can see in the table above, Adams proved that he can find the back of the net on a regular basis, without missing many ‘big chances’ in the Championship in those two seasons, scoring as many or more goals than May did in League One this term.
This shows that Adams has the potential to deliver even more quality in the second tier than May did in the third tier of English football, which is why he could come in as a big upgrade on the current Birmingham star.
The Torino ace has also won 36% of his aerial duels in the Serie A this term, and won 38% of them in the Championship for Southampton last season, which suggests that he could provide more physicality in the number nine role than May.
It is now down to the club to wrap up an “expensive” deal for the forward and for Davies and his staff to convince the forward to make the drop back down to the second tier with the hope that he buys into a long-term project.
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