Whilst Birmingham City have found out on occasion this season that League One isn’t a complete walk in the park, with a shock defeat to Shrewsbury Town still sticking out from late November, the Blues do look set for an immediate return to the Championship.
Sat comfortably near the top of the division, with recent big wins such as the 3-0 victory picked up at Wigan Athletic showing off their class, Chris Davies will just hope his team continue to pick up more wins away from any defeats creeping in which could make clashes more tense near the close of the 46-game marathon.
Whatever does happen between now and the final game of the regular League One season, Dion Sanderson will not play any further role, with the one-time Blues captain now chucked out to Blackburn Rovers on loan.
Sanderson's future at Birmingham
Amazingly, despite being deemed as surplus to requirements at St. Andrew’s, the reserve defender has managed to jump up a league to join the Riversiders.
This move to Ewood Park has come about owing to Sanderson’s past connections with John Eustace, who is now manager at Blackburn after a successful spell in the West Midlands was surprisingly cut short.
Coincidentally, the new Blackburn man would power home this header during Eustace’s final match in charge, with the 25-year-old a standout performer for the Blues last season even as the bitter blow of relegation became reality by collecting a respectable ten clean sheets from 37 league appearances.
But, with Davies securing the services of Christoph Klarer before a ball was kicked this campaign to strengthen at the back, his minutes have dried up, with just two league games coming his way in 2024/25.
Therefore, this feels like a move that suits all parties in the short term in trying to up Sanderson’s confidence levels. But, with Davies now one central defender light, this new face could soon arrive at St. Andrew’s to add depth.
How Darling compares to Sanderson
As was reported by journalist Darren Witcoop earlier this month via his X account, Birmingham are eyeing up Swansea City star Harry Darling this January, with his current deal in Wales coming to an end this approaching summer.
Therefore, Luke Williams could soon be left with no choice but to cash in on his 25-year-old ace, with the Blues keen on adding Darling to their star-studded squad subsequently, alongside Championship outfit Bristol City.
Looking at his second tier numbers for this season so far, the addition of the 6 foot 2 enforcer to the Birmingham ranks would mean the already regimented Blues would become even tougher to break down, having only leaked 17 goals in League One action from 23 clashes.
Impressively, even as Swansea sit in an unremarkable 12th spot in the league above, Darling has still managed to stand out with six clean sheets accumulated from 26 games alongside alongside also averaging five duels won per contest, resulting in his manager heralding him as “heroic” at the back.
Stat – per 90 mins*
Darling
Sanderson
Games played
26
37
Goals scored
2
1
Assists
3
0
Touches*
80.7
46.3
Accurate passes*
59.5 (89%)
30.7 (85%)
Ball recoveries*
3.8
3.4
Clearances*
4.7
3.3
Total duels won*
5.0
3.4
Weighing up Darling’s numbers this season next to Sanderson’s when he was last playing week in week out in the Championship, there isn’t much competition when it comes to who is the more competent performer, with the Swans’ number six bettering the new Blackburn man in most departments when looking at the table above.
Birmingham will just have to hope they’re capable of pulling off another coup similar to Jay Stansfield’s return here, with Darling an unbelievable purchase for League One, and an upgrade that will stand them in good stead for tackling the division above if they get there.
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