Birmingham City excelled in League One when being a big fish in a small pond.
But, the Championship is full of some huge teams based off stature alone, with the likes of Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City all recently tasting the Premier League like the Blues once upon a time.
Throwing in the likes of a very ambitious Birmingham into the mix alongside Wrexham makes the division a fascinating one to predict already, with the Blues perhaps keen to add some experience to their squad this summer to handle the step-up in a similar fashion to when they relied upon the recently retired Lukas Jutkiewicz to get them out of trouble.
Jutkiewicz's legend status at St. Andrew's
The tag legend is thrown around an awful lot in the modern game, but it’s the perfect label to describe Jutkiewicz with when looking at his long spell at St Andrew’s.
After all, the much-loved Blues servant didn’t notch up a staggering 357 clashes for the West Midlands titans by chance, with 16 of those even coming about last season as he attempted to play his part in Chris Davies’ men storming to the title.
He would certainly do that when firing home two goals across those limited appearances, with these memorable efforts also bumping up his overall tally to 68.
Remarkably, 62 of those actually fell when Birmingham were regularly in the challenging Championship, meaning that know-how not being around the building anymore could hurt Davies and Co as they return to the unpredictable division.
But, they could win themselves an equally experienced head in attack very soon.
Birmingham could sign their new Jutkiewicz
The newly promoted side have already struck gold going down the seasoned route with Alfie May, considering the EFL journeyman bagged 16 league strikes on the way to the title being heroically lifted.
Therefore, they will hope this approach pays off again if they’re successful in landing new reported target Danny Ings, with the 32-year-old goal machine now searching for a new club to call his home after his West Ham United contract expired.
Wrexham and his former side Burnley, are also allegedly locked into the race to land the potent veteran, but Birmingham will aim to advance to the front of the queue to try and get the best out of an attacker who can terrorise Championship defences for fun on his day.
He hasn’t plied his trade in the EFL since the 2013/14 season, but Ings would manage to hammer home 21 strikes during the Clarets’ promotion success that campaign, before then going on to solidify himself as a composed finisher in the relentless Premier League.
Career games played
419
Premier League goals
72
Championship goals
27
League One goals
7
Therefore, he should be able to dust himself down and offer a threatening body up top for Birmingham next season, even if recent campaigns have seen the goals dry up due to recurring injury troubles.
After all, Jutkiewicz only started three times for Birmingham in league action during their relegation season down to League One, but still managed to chip in with three goals and an assist.
The resurgent Blues won’t complain if the “phenomenal” 32-year-old – as he was lauded previously by pundit Noel Whelan – does this exact same job for them, with his extensive background in the game also potentially of benefit to Jay Stansfield.
24/25
West Ham
15
1
2
23/24
West Ham
20
1
1
22/23
West Ham
17
2
2
22/23
Aston Villa
18
6
0
21/22
Aston Villa
30
7
6
20/21
Southampton
29
12
4
19/20
Southampton
38
22
2
18/19
Southampton
24
7
3
17/18
Liverpool
8
1
0
15/16
Liverpool
6
2
0
14/15
Burnley
35
11
4
With 240 top-flight appearances and three England caps under his belt across his varied career, this free transfer pick-up would really show Birmingham mean business entering back into the Championship as another very successful season is hopefully in the offing.
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