2 players who could follow Scott Hogan out of Birmingham City this summer | OneFootball

Highlights

As we approach the final few months of the Championship season, Birmingham City's management will be looking at which players they wish to move on at the end of the season.

The club have a number of players who see their deals at St Andrew's expire at the end of the season, some of whom are the wrong side of 30, so you'd have thought they no longer have a future at the club.

Letting players over 30 and who struggle for playing time leave the club will enable Birmingham's management to bring down the age profile of the squad and use the money saved to bring in the players they wish to bring in.

With that in mind, we looked at two Birmingham City players who could leave the club this summer.

Neil Etheridge

Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge joined the Blues from Cardiff City in 2020 but has struggled to nail down a starting position at St Andrew's.

The Philippines international has largely been second-choice behind John Ruddy and, at 34, it seems as if he's got no future in the West Midlands.

It was seen as a great signing when they brought him in just under four years ago after being Cardiff's first-choice goalkeeper during their 2018/19 Premier League campaign, impressing as the Bluebirds just missed out on survival.

However, he was replaced by Alex Smithies as Cardiff's number one the following season, so he moved to Championship rivals Birmingham in search of a regular starting berth.

It proved a worthwhile move at first, as he played 43 Championship games during the 2020/21 season, before making a further 21 appearances during the 2021/22 season, a year that was disrupted by Etheridge being seriously ill from Covid-19.

However, things have got worse on the field for Etheridge since then, playing just four league games last season, and even less this season.

He came back into the team for two recent league games but was subsequently dropped and finds himself out of the team again.

With a lack of playing time and his age against him, it looks likely that he'll move on this summer.

Marc Roberts

Defender Marc Roberts has been with the club since 2017 but sees his deal at St Andrew's expire this summer.

The ex-Barnsley man has been a good servant to the club, but at 33, he looks set to move on this season. The central defender has been a regular feature for Blues since his move but has struggled for playing time this season.

However, he has come back into the side in recent weeks, and he even wore the captain's armband in recent victories over Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland.

Roberts being in the starting line-up has been an exception rather than the rule this season, so it still seems likely that he'll move on in the summer, despite recent starts.

The defender is closing on in on 200 Birmingham City appearances and will be hoping to reach the milestone before the season is out.

It's been a tough campaign for Roberts, but he's still a good player and could have an important role to play as the club look to move up the table in weeks to come.