Birmingham Metropolis is now not a sleeping big aiming to take a decrease league by storm.
Now, the Blues are again within the ultra-competitive Championship, determined to show that they belong on the degree, with an ambition of their veins to push on much more after lifting the League One title with ease.
Mega-rich Birmingham chairman Tom Wagner has even been hyping up the prospect of Chris Davies’ males being again within the Premier League by 2026 coming round, that means the Blues must immediately take the EFL’s elite league by storm on their reentry.
Will probably be intriguing to see if all this stress on Birmingham’s again hurts their progress, however the step up a league can even be a chance for the likes of Paik Seung-Ho to indicate they’ll strut their stuff in a harder atmosphere, away from breaking the financial institution to fund their top-flight goals.
Paik’s performances in League One
While Davies and Co. did usher in some confirmed EFL faces comparable to Alfie Might and Jay Stansfield final summer season, the Blues had sanctioned some left-field strikes earlier than their relegation occurred, significantly when Paik arrived at St. Andrew’s from South Korean aspect Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in January of 2024.
Fortunately for Birmingham, it did not take lengthy for Paik to stand up to hurry together with his new environment, with the midfield maestro even netting a solitary aim within the Championship earlier than they fell to the third tier.
The energetic 28-year-old ended up being a key a part of the Birmingham aspect down a division too, with the Blues quantity 13 accumulating one other strike in league motion as his assured crew had been resoundingly topped champions, on prime of additionally registering three assists.
But, now as they enterprise again as much as the Championship, the bold Blues might quickly land an improve on the fashionable South Korean by signing this former Manchester United youth product.
Birmingham’s seek for a midfielder
Birmingham have had plenty of success previously when buying former Purple Devils prodigies, with the likes of Tahith Chong and Jesse Lingard shining at St. Andrew’s briefly, earlier than spreading their wings elsewhere.
Certainly, Chong registered 13 objectives and assists in 61 video games for the Midlands aspect, with Lingard beforehand racking up 9 aim involvements in simply 13 outings on mortgage on the membership.
Charlie Savage’s title might quickly be thrown into this combine, with a earlier report from Soccer Insider revealing that Birmingham are ready to battle it out for the £2m-rated star’s providers, amidst curiosity additionally coming from Wrexham, Blackburn Rovers, and Portsmouth.
Very like Paik, Savage is recent off a standout season in League One, albeit in a Studying aspect with many off-field struggles that almost derailed issues on the pitch.
When wanting on the desk beneath, too, it might be argued that the Royals’ quantity eight is even an improve on his South Korean counterpart, with Savage tallying up extra objectives and assists final season for Noel Hunt’s males when weighed up subsequent to Paik’s lesser output.
Savage vs Paik – L1 numbers (24/25) | ||
---|---|---|
Stat – per 90 minutes* | Savage | Paik |
Video games performed | 45 | 41 |
Targets scored | 5 | 1 |
Assists | 9 | 3 |
Touches* | 47.8 | 66.2 |
Correct passes* | 27.0 (80%) | 45.2 (88%) |
Key passes* | 1.3 | 1.0 |
Large possibilities created | 5 | 8 |
Large possibilities missed | 3 | 3 |
Ball recoveries* | 3.7 | 4.0 |
Whole duels gained* | 2.3 | 4.4 |
Stats by Sofascore |
Amazingly, regardless of averaging fewer touches per match final season in League One, Savage would higher Paik’s goal-and-assist tally by a whopping ten, with the 22-year-old’s effectiveness in ahead areas maybe a helpful weapon for the Blues to name upon as they attempt to ruffle feathers again within the Championship.
He does fall flat when weighing up their respective ball restoration and duels gained numbers, however that is the place Tomoki Iwata might come to the rescue in any potential duo, with Iwata nearly trumping Paik with 4.5 ball recoveries averaged per third-tier conflict.
Hailed as “top quality” by former Wales supervisor Rob Web page when first thrown into the Purple Dragons senior aspect, Savage ought to, in idea, be capable of instantly slot into Davies’ crew and take to the pressures of the Championship effectively, leading to Paik having to make do with a spot within the background.
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