Birmingham City have been urged to sanction an exit for Dion Sanderson and replace him with a younger centre-back amid rumours that the League One club are ready to loan the 24-year-old out in the January transfer window.
Sanderson is into his third full season at St Andrew’s, having first joined on loan from Wolves in 2022, but has slipped down the pecking order after a tough 12 months, with the club now battling for promotion in the third tier.
Birmingham are flying high in League One as they aim for an immediate return to the Championship, and the 24-year-old has featured just five times in all competitions so far this term, with only one league start to date under Chris Davies.
Fan pundit urges Birmingham to sanction Dion Sanderson sale
Journalist Alan Nixon has recently claimed that Blues may allow Sanderson to depart the club in the new year on loan, with potential Championship admirers ready to battle it out for his signature.
Blues seem well-equipped to allow him to leave, with Ben Davies, Krystian Bielik, and Christoph Klarer all ahead of him in the pecking order, but will surely want to sign a replacement if he does leave to make sure that they have enough depth ahead of the promotion challenge in the second half of the campaign.
We asked FLW’s Blues fan pundit, Mike Gibbs, for a position the club needs to strengthen in January, and he admits that he would be happy to see Sanderson either loaned out or sold permanently in the new year, and wants the club to sign a younger alternative that can also play at left-back to provide more cover for Alun Cochrane.
“It’s not necessarily a case that we need to strengthen, but a position that I think I’d make a change in is centre-back,” Mike told FLW.
“The reason for that is (because) my personal view is that I’d probably try and move Dion Sanderson on.
“Whether it be on loan or permanently. Ideally, the latter but a loan to a permanent in the summer could work right. If he had a good half-season, then it could bump his value up.
“So for me, I’d be looking to move him on and then bring in another centre-half.
“Obviously Ben Davies is only on loan at the moment, so at the end of the season, we don’t know what is going to happen there.
“I think we need a young and hungry centre-half, with the ability to come and play quite a lot of football, because we are still going to be in multiple cup competitions and the league.
“The other position to potentially strengthen is at left-back, depending on Lee Buchanan.
“We’ve been so over-reliant on Cochrane so far this season. It does feel like we’re light in that area.
“Someone who can play at left-back or as a centre-half would be a really good addition.”
Sanderson needs a fresh start after a torrid recent time at Birmingham
Sanderson may well be a relatively forgotten man at St Andrew’s right now, but he was once a key man at the heart of their defence, and impressed so much on loan in 2021/22 and 2022/23 that Blues paid Wolves £2m for his permanent services last summer.
He was appointed as club captain ahead of last season by John Eustace, and began the season well along with the rest of the team, but suffered from multiple managerial changes and saw his form slip as Blues were eventually relegated.
| Dion Sanderson 2023/24 Championship statistics (FBref) | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 37 |
| Goals | 1 |
| Tackles per 90 | 0.98 |
| Interceptions per 90 | 1.36 |
| Aerials won per 90 | 1.72 |
| Pass completion % | 84.5% |
Sanderson was stripped of his captaincy in April, with three league games remaining, due to off-field issues, and he has failed to return to his former glory since, with an encouraging pre-season then followed by a shaky start to the League One campaign.
He was sent off in Blues’ first round EFL Cup clash against Charlton Athletic, and then suffered a foot injury that ruled him out for six weeks, which saw the likes of Davies and Klarer step up and prove themselves in boss Davies’ starting eleven.
The 24-year-old now faces an uncertain future at Birmingham, and it seems like a smart move for both him and the club to part ways as soon as possible, so he can get his head down and impress elsewhere, and Blues can add a player to their squad that is going to impact games positively.
