"A must" - Birmingham City urged to sign replacement in January | OneFootball

FLW's Blues fan pundit has described the need for Chris Davies to bolster his backline

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

With the winter transfer window now in full swing, a lot of eyes in League One will be cast on movements made by Birmingham City.

The league leaders became one of the stories of the summer window for a hefty spending spree which culminated in a club and divisional-record fee for the services of top scorer, Jay Stansfield among other additions.

Despite the strength-in-depth which Chris Davies has at his disposal as Blues have accumulated 53 points from their opening 23 league games, there are still areas in which the former Tottenham Hotspur assistant will hope to add further bodies.

With that in mind, Football League World asked our resident Bluenose, Mike Gibbs, which areas he feels need strengthening the most between now and Deadline Day on February 3rd.

Gibbs referenced two potential weak points among the squad as areas that could be added to in the coming weeks, with those being out wide and at left-back.

However, despite losing the creative forces of Emil Hansson and the largely influential Keshi Anderson, our fan pundit believes the left side of defence is more of a necessity in terms of imminent additions, as a result of Lee Buchanan's recent season-ending knee injury.

Gibbs said: "I think this is a toss-up between left-back and winger for me.

"Left-back wise, obviously, Lee Buchanan's had a serious injury - he's going to be out for the season, which means we've only got Alex Cochrane as a fit left-back.

"Obviously, we've got Ben Davies who's left-footed who could play there, but I think that's to fill a gap. He's not like Taylor Gardner-Hickman on the other side.

"From a wing perspective, we've got further injuries to Hansson again, Keshi Anderson's injured, Scott Wright's just come back, and I think it's one area of the pitch where nobody has truly locked down those positions.

"You could argue that Stansfield on the left and Anderson on the right, but they're not the type of player to take a man on and get the ball into the box. So, I think it's between the two (positions).

"I think the absolute crying need, though, is left-back. In the wing positions, at least we have players who can cover there. But, I think, for me, left-back is a must.

"Cochrane was out a few weeks ago. If we lost him, we would be very, very short, and he's such a big part of our game.

"I think it's one of two types for me. Either an inverted centre-back, which is the role Davies could play, or you want an attacking full-back.

"The reason I say either, is because you can balance both sides of the pitch. So, if we had an inverted centre-back who played left-back, you could attack on the right-hand side.

"But, if we were to play Krystian Bielik at right-back as almost a third centre-back, you need that attacking width on the left.

"I think either/or would be suitable. I don't think you're going to find a unicorn that can do both, but one or the other is exactly what we need."

Left-back depth is a must for Chris Davies

As Gibbs alluded to, the lack of bodies at left-back is a concern for the Blues, who were fortunate that prior to his injury, Buchanan was able to fill the void that the injured Cochrane left to a superb standard, with no real difference in terms of performance levels and output between the two.

Of course, there has been evidence of Davies utilising more natural centre-backs in the wide areas of his back four, with Bielik starting at right-back in three of his last 10 appearances, before missing the recent victory over Wigan.

Cochrane has provided as equal an attacking threat as Ethan Laird on the right side of defence, but the former Brighton man has shone in terms of his defensive metrics also, winning 3.5 duels per game, as well as being beaten by opposition wingers less than once per game on average.

If the 24-year-old were to suffer the misfortune of another injury, then there are no other senior players at the club who have left-back down as their number one role, despite the fact that Ben Davies has featured there previously for Rangers.