Managing Birmingham City: Neumann one of three signings as Chris Davies offloads two.

Chris Davies projected ‘a quiet window’ for Birmingham City this month but the picture is ever-changing. The Blues manager didn’t have Lee Buchanan at his disposal when he made that prediction, as the left-back was sidelined for the rest of the season due to a serious knee injury.Davies has already alluded to the possibility that Buchanan may need to be replaced by the Blues.He said to BirminghamLive last week, “Maybe, yes.””My initial thought was to examine how we handled Christmas with injuries and other issues, but we are currently evaluating the squad’s current state and determining whether we need to add one or two players to assist the players. That is something we are investigating.

In a position they weren’t planning to strengthen two weeks ago, the Blues might be better off with a short-term loan to cover Alex Cochrane than a permanent acquisition. Their goal has always been to bolster their center-back position, and Phil Neumann is their top choice. The question is whether the Blues can sign Neumann right away or if they must wait until the summer for his contract to expire at Hannover. Neumann played in Hannover’s first midseason friendly on Monday, after the team had hired a new management, indicating that they aren’t really interested in losing one of their top players this month.

Dion Sanderson might find himself in a tight spot if the Blues don’t sign Neumann this month. Offers for Sanderson will be considered by the Blues, but Davies doesn’t want to disappoint. In a perfect world, Neumann would start right away and Sanderson would have moved on, giving Davies time to get the German used to his style of play before the upcoming campaign.Alfons Sampsted is another potential departure, but obtaining an overseas loan is more difficult than it seems. If FC Twente doesn’t want Sampsted back, then everyone would have to agree and another plan would have to be made for him.

Sampsted, an Icelander, has only made 12 appearances for the Blues, and his lone start came in the Vertu Trophy match against Fulham’s under-21 team. Sampsted is one of four players who haven’t started a league game for Blues this season, the others being Lukas Jutkiewicz, Scott Wright and Ayumu Yokoyama. Sampsted is basically fourth choice right-back at Blues today with Krystian Bielik, Ethan Laird and Taylor Gardner-Hickman all preferred over the Icelandic.

Davies will surely be thinking signing a new winger. Emil Hansson, Scott Wright, and Keshi Anderson have all suffered injuries in recent months, pushing the Blues’ wide players to the sidelines. Anderson, who was one of the Blues’ best players in December, and Hansson are both currently sidelined due to injuries. Davies hasn’t yet come to trust Ayumu Yokoyama either, so another winger might be the wildcard addition that transfer windows frequently produce.

The Blues also need to make a decision regarding Romelle Donovan. After a disappointing loan stint at Burton Albion, where he made just nine appearances, the incredibly gifted young player has returned to the Blues. If Donovan’s Premier League suitors don’t approach him this month, he might be better off on loan to a League Two team that isn’t involved in a relegation fight.

Read more on sportupdates.co.uk