"4, maybe 5" - Expected Birmingham City summer departures named | OneFootball

FLW's Birmingham fan pundit has identified players that could depart the club this summer

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Birmingham City have taken major strides towards gaining promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt.

Blues have a commanding lead at the top of the League One table, with 15 games still remaining.

Chris Davies’ side will already be planning ahead for the summer in order to get a head start on potentially returning to the second tier.

The gap to second-placed Wycombe Wanderers is now nine points, with the West Midlands outfit also having a game in hand.

Birmingham City players tipped for summer exits

When asked how many players could leave St. Andrew’s this summer, FLW’s Birmingham fan pundit suggested as many as four or five departures could be on the cards.

He named the likes of Alfie May, Marc Leonard, Lukas Jutkiewicz and Krystian Bielik as players that could all exit the club when the season draws to a close.

“I think my gut probably says four,” Gibbs told Football League World.

“I think Bielik could potentially leave if he continues to not get game time, with Neumann signing in the summer, and certainly if they make Ben Davies permanent as well.

“I could see Bielik going.

“I think someone like a Marc Leonard, again if he doesn’t get minutes and he's the fourth choice.

“Is he really going to want to be there?

"Potentially, one or two of the wide players, given there’s a lot of competition for places, especially if someone struggles to get minutes.

“Or one of the guys out on loan, and then obviously Jutkiewicz is coming to the end I think and will leave at the end of the season.

“The other one I can think of is Alfie May, so four, maybe five I think could be [coming to an end].”

Birmingham are unbeaten in their last 17 league games, last suffering defeat against Shrewsbury Town on 23 November.

A big summer ahead for Birmingham City

Birmingham responded well to suffering relegation, with the club investing in a team that could win the League One title.

But the real business will begin once that promotion is made official and full preparation can begin for life back in the Championship.

While there should be no problems with staying in the division, the ambitions of the current owners seem much loftier than just survival.

If they want to hit the ground running next year, then there will likely have to be a number of departures this summer in order to open up space for incomings to strengthen the first-team squad.