"Needs to be playing" - Out-of-favour Birmingham City man tipped for January loan move | OneFootball

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit believes midfielder Brandon Khela could benefit from a loan move in the January transfer window.

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…

It has been an outstanding start to the season for Birmingham City in League One.

Birmingham are playing in the third tier of English football for the first time in almost 30 years following their relegation from the Championship last season, but they look to be in an incredibly strong position to bounce back at the first attempt.

Many tipped Blues to win the League One title this season after they spent a reported total of around £24 million during the course of the summer transfer window, including £15 million on Fulham striker Jay Stansfield, and they currently sit top of the table after winning nine and drawing two of their first 12 games.

The big summer rebuild has meant that opportunities have been limited for some members of the Birmingham squad in the early stages of this season, and midfielder Brandon Khela is one example of a player who has fallen down the pecking order.

Khela enjoyed a decent start to the season after returning from his loan spell at Ross County, coming on as a substitute in the first two league games and scoring an excellent long-range winner in the 1-0 victory at Charlton Athletic in the EFL Cup first round, and Davies decided against sending him out on loan again this summer.

"Brandon was pretty clear with me that he was really hungry to show what he could do and he is ready to deliver in any position when called upon. I just thought his mindset and the conversation I had with him really showed me, for such a young guy, there's a real maturity there and a real desire to be here and play for this club. I really liked that," Davies told Birmingham Live in August.

However, Khela's minutes have become increasingly restricted in recent months, and he has not been included in the matchday squad in the league since mid-August, so it remains to be seen whether Davies will reconsider his stance on the 19-year-old ahead of the January transfer window.

Birmingham City fan pundit on Brandon Khela's future

When asked which player he believes would benefit most from a loan move in January, FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit Mike Gibbs said that a temporary exit would be a sensible option for Khela.

"I think the one for me would be Brandon Khela," Mike said.

"He's had a few minutes in the EFL Trophy and the EFL Cup, but from a league perspective, he isn't really getting anywhere near the first team.

"He's of an age now where he probably needs to be playing regular first-team football, Under-21 football isn't really going to be enough for him.

"I know he went on loan last season and did really well, and the club think really highly of him, so I think the natural next step for him would be to go back out on loan, potentially a League One or League Two club or maybe back up to Scotland if he's playing at the top level there.

"For me, it would be Brandon Khela."

Birmingham City should sanction Brandon Khela exit in January

It is difficult to disagree with Mike that Khela could benefit from a loan move away from Birmingham in January.

It seemed as though Khela could have a part to play for the Blues this season after his stunning strike in the win at Charlton in August, but he has struggled to build on that standout moment.

Such is the quality and depth of the Birmingham squad, it was always going to be difficult for Khela to start regularly this season, and with competition for places in midfield from the likes of Paik Seung-ho, Tomoki Iwata, Marc Leonard and Taylor Gardner-Hickman, it seems unlikely he will receive many minutes over the course of the campaign.

Khela has also featured at left-back this season, but with Lee Buchanan set to return from injury over the coming weeks to challenge Alex Cochrane, the Blues will be well-stocked in that position, so another loan move could be on the cards for the academy graduate.