Birmingham City spent their brief time in League One building a Championship-quality squad, but now that they have secured promotion, they are investing further to ensure they can look upwards rather than over their shoulder.

The club have spent big on Japan centre forward Kyōgo Furuhashi, who has arrived from Stade Rennais in a deal that could reach £10.3 million. This has made the former Celtic star the third most expensive player to ever join the club.

Due to these new signings, the Blues have had to shift a number of players, including Romelle Donovan, Ayumu Yokoyama and Alfie May, and they aren’t finished just yet.

Birmingham City make 50% profit as Bielik moves on

Football League World have reported that Birmingham City centre-back Krystian Bielik will complete a transfer to West Bromwich Albion “in the next 24 hours”. Bielik had served as club captain from last season, and manager Chris Davis had previously described him as “a really important player, a good captain and a good leader”.

Birmingham will make 50% profit on the transfer as they will receive upwards of £1 million for Bielik after only paying Derby County £500,000 in 2023. A number of clubs were reportedly interested in signing Bielik, including south-coast Championship side Portsmouth, but he is reportedly settled in the Midlands, and the less-than-7-mile swap from St Andrews to the Hawthorns was the easiest option.

Ryan Mason was eager to sign Bielik, given West Brom’s centre-back situation. Torbjørn Heggem is on the brink of completing a £10 million switch to Serie A side Bologna, and Kyle Bartley has called time on his career following 232 appearances for the Baggies.

The emotional challenges that come with Birmingham's ambition

Bielik was a favourite among fans and was praised for his loyalty in not only staying with the club following relegation to League One on the final day of the 2023/24 season but also taking over as captain and ensuring that they secured promotion back to the Championship.

The player was clearly settled at Birmingham as his new club seems to have been decided primarily over West Brom’s short distance to his current home. Fans have taken to social media to express their sadness at Bielik’s departure.

While it seems all parties are saddened by Bielik’s departure, it is a clear example of the cost of the club’s ambition. After a rocky first season under new ownership, Birmingham City now seem to be on an upward trajectory. They were promoted to the Championship after heavy investment, so much so that their gross transfer spend was higher than all of the other clubs in League One combined.

With figures like serial winner Tom Brady at the forefront of the new Birmingham leadership, the club clearly has Premier League ambitions, and the cost of that will be players like Bielik, who are well regarded among the fans and happy at the club, having to move on as the team outgrows them.