Birmingham City are aiming to earn automatic promotion back to the Championship at the first time of asking this year.
The Blues appointed Chris Davies in the summer, and brought in a number of new players for life in League One.
With the Midlands outfit now in the mix for a top two spot, there will be players potentially attracting interest as we approach the January transfer window.
But there will be one player that stands out above the rest as simply too valuable to sell given the club’s push for promotion.
Paik Seung-ho value claim
When asked who at the club is invaluable ahead of January, FLW’s Birmingham fan pundit Mike Gibbs picked Paik Seung-ho.
He believes the midfielder is irreplaceable, making it impossible to consider a sale at any price this winter.
“I think the one player who is invaluable, and shouldn’t be sold at any cost, is Paik,” Gibbs told Football League World.
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“I think the reason being is he just ticks the entire team over, and I think, at that level, replacing him would be impossible.
“I don’t think you would find someone who can have that much influence on a game.
“While we’d have Marc Leonard that could come in, he’s not the same player.
| Paik Seung-ho – Birmingham City league goals and appearances (per Fbref.com) | ||||
| Season | Appearances (Starts) | Goals (Assists) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 18 (15) | 1 (0) | ||
| 2024-25 | 18 | 0 (2) | ||
| As of December 18th | ||||
“He’s very highly rated at Blues but, even though he’s very, very highly rated, I think it’s often missed how he keeps us ticking over and what he brings.
“He’s pretty physical, he’s excellent on the ball, great at breaking forward, great at breaking play up at the back.
“So, I think it would really disrupt us, we’d lose our rhythm and we’d struggle to get the amount of possession that we’re getting.”
Birmingham are currently second in the League One table, one point behind leaders Wycombe Wanderers with a game in hand.
Paik Seung-ho has been a great addition for Birmingham
Seung-ho has performed excellently in League One, and will be key to the club’s promotion push in the second half of the season.
It’s difficult to see a scenario where he departs in January, but it will be interesting to see if any interest arises in the summer.
The South Korea international has a contract until the summer of 2028, giving the club a strong negotiating position if any team does try to sign him in the near future.
Davies will be keen to ensure he remains at St. Andrew’s, as he’ll want a calm January in order to avoid disrupting their promotion challenge too much.
