Birmingham City showed this time last summer that they are content with punching above their weight when a dramatic transfer window is open.
Indeed, it was somewhat of a shock to see Chris Davies’ men win the services of Jay Stansfield, considering the Blues had just been relegated all the way down to League One. Still, at a price tag of £15m, Birmingham sent shockwaves through the third tier with this statement purchase.
Birmingham will likely try to operate in a similarly flashy fashion moving up a division, with that approach clear for all to see again as Demarai Gray is now tipped to make a dramatic return to St. Andrew’s.
Gray's potential return to Birmingham
Gray isn’t the only former Birmingham player on the club’s radar this summer with Che Adams’ name having also been thrown out as another high-profile face who could soon return to their boyhood employers as Birmingham aim to take their new league by storm.
Gray is the latest rumour in this regard, with journalist Ben Jacobs taking to social media earlier this month to confirm the Blues’ interest and even reveal an enquiry had been made.
It would take around a fee of £8m for Birmingham to win back their former homegrown product, which is a steep amount to fork out, irrespective of his previous blistering eight-goal stint in the West Midlands.
Indeed, the 28-year-old has only tallied up a meagre nine goal contributions from 50 games for current employers Al-Ettifaq.
Off the back of this, Davies and Co might set their sights elsewhere.
The "special" target who is more exciting than Gray
The concern would be that the 28-year-old flounders back on the St. Andrew’s stage and tarnishes his reputation in the process.
On the other hand, an alternate target in attack in the form of NEC Nijimegen ace Sontje Hansen would have nothing to lose on his arrival in Birmingham.
Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph recently revealed that the newly promoted outfit has expressed an interest in landing the entertaining Dutchman.
Much like Gray, Hansen has been under an intense spotlight most of his senior career, having initially exploded onto the scene as a promising young starlet at Eredivisie behemoth Ajax.
He would only go on to make two first-team appearances in Amsterdam, but he has more than made a name for himself at Nijimegen in the here and now, as seen in the breathtaking solo goal above and when further assessing his standout numbers in the table below.
Games played
33
32
Goals scored
6
6
Assists
4
4
Big chances missed
4
2
Big chances created
7
7
Hansen has been very consistent for his Dutch top division employers over the last two seasons, with a hefty 20 goal contributions picked up across his last two league campaigns.
To add context, despite Gray being able to boast Premier League experience with Everton, he has only been able to collect a flat seven goal contributions over the same period, even whilst plying his trade out in the weaker Saudi Pro League.
Hansen has even been branded as a “special” talent in the past by his former U17 coach in Peter van der Veen, with plenty more to come from the 23-year-old potentially if he uproots to the Blues shortly.
Whereas Gray has arguably had his moment in the sun at St. Andrew’s, with more exciting, up-and-coming stars now needing to be prioritised.
Birmingham could sign a big upgrade on Paik in "first-class" £2m sensation
Birmingham City could now win themselves a new midfield talent to upgrade on Paik Seung-Ho.
2 ByKelan SarsonJun 6, 2025
