Sky Sports pundit has already written off Birmingham City’s promotion chances, he’s completely wrong

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Birmingham City are storming their way into the Championship promotion picture after completing some incredible transfer business.

The Blues have made nine new signings so far in their quest to achieve automatic promotion in 2025/26, with some arguably capable of playing top flight football.

Birmingham’s £10 million capture of Kyogo Furuhashi is arguably the Championship signing of the summer after previously playing Champions League football with Celtic.

Meanwhile, the Midlands outfit have also persuaded Demarai Gray to return to St Andrews and Tommy Doyle to join from Wolves, as they continue to assemble a squad that can do damage in the second tier.

The level of additions should propel Chris Davies’ men into the Championship promotion race, joining the likes of Ipswich Town and Southampton, but one pundit isn’t confident about their chances.

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Sky Sports pundit ‘can’t see’ Birmingham City winning automatic promotion

At the start of May, before the 2024/25 campaign had even ended, Lee Hendrie backed Birmingham City to challenge for promotion.

Now, after blowing the rest of the division out of the water with their transfer moves, surely the Blues have strengthened their chances of achieving successive promotions.

However, Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman isn’t buying their chances of finishing in the top two next season and feels they’re underestimating how difficult it will be to translate their possession football across to the Championship.

“Despite the fact, there’s no doubt, they are signing excellent players, and they will do well,” Goodman told Football League World.

“I just can’t see a top two finish, given the nature of the Championship, given how Birmingham City want to play in terms of dominating the ball.

“I don’t think they’re going to be able to do that as easily as they did in League One. And therefore a top two finish, I’ve been wrong before, but I can’t really see that at this stage.”

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Birmingham should be the favourites for promotion

Although Southampton, Ipswich and Leicester City will all be expected to challenge for the top two, question marks are hanging over each club.

Will Still will need time to establish his total football philosophy at St Mary’s, Kieran McKenna’s men need a quality replacement for Liam Delap, and Leicester are yet to hire a new manager and could face a points deduction.

Ipswich are admittedly the strongest of the three clubs to bounce back, but Birmingham are arguably in a stronger position to finish in the top two.

Not only have they created some incredible momentum for their record-breaking campaign in League One, but their signings so far have been outstanding and it’s hard to pick many weaknesses from their squad.

Birmingham’s signing of James Beadle is questionable, as he made numerous errors at Sheffield Wednesday last term, though their forward line of Gray, Kyogo and Jay Stansfield looks electric.

Meanwhile, their midfield of Doyle, Paik Seung-ho and Tomoki Iwata has a bit of everything, and their colossus defensive partnership of Phil Neumann and Christoph Klarer is as good as anyone’s in the division.

That is why Goodman could be eating humble pie come May if Birmingham storm to automatic promotion.