"Wowzers" - Exclusive: David Prutton reacts to Tom Wagner's record-breaking Birmingham City reveal | OneFootball

Wagner believes that Birmingham will have the highest revenues of any non-parachute Championship team ever in 2025-26

Birmingham City are returning to the Championship next season, and chairman Tom Wagner has set his stall out pretty quickly in a bid to make everyone know they're serious about getting back to the Premier League at the quickest possible opportunity.

Even before their summer spending spree that saw the likes of Jay Stansfield and Christoph Klarer arrive at St. Andrew's for significant fees, everyone expected Birmingham to coast through the 2024-25 League One campaign with very few blips.

And that's exactly how it has gone, with Blues breaking the points record in the process for the third tier of English football - it's the first step on Wagner's plan to get Birmingham back into the upper echelons, and it appears that the cash will keep on rolling in next season too.

David Prutton wowed by Tom Wagner, Birmingham City reveal

In an interview with The Times after their record-breaking third tier title win was confirmed, American businessman Wagner revealed that he is expecting Birmingham's revenues next season to be the highest in the entire division when you take out clubs that will have parachute payments, which include the relegated trio of Ipswich Town, Southampton and Leicester City.

Not only that, but Wagner expects City to break the record as the highest Championship revenue EVER when you take parachute payments out of the equation, revealing that NFL legend Tom Brady being on board has opened the door to huge sponsorships and deals that wouldn't usually be on the table.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World in regards to Wagner's financial claim, Sky Sports' lead EFL presenter David Prutton believes that the rest of the Championship should be worried by Birmingham's ambitions heading into 2025-26.

"Wowzers - it definitely should be a warning," Prutton told FLW.

"The devastation that came with them dropping out of the division has been well and truly blown apart by how good they've been in League One, how they've managed to re-tool, how they've managed to build their squad up.

"Yes, I think there's different financial stipulations with regards to how the Championship is operated, but yeah, they're coming up and gunning for a blast through this division.

"It'll be tough, just because they were so good in League One doesn't mean to say that automatically translates into Championship success, but they will be a coveted club for people to join, they will be able to pay very good wages and attract very good players.

"So, with Birmingham City, I'd say watch this space."

Don't be surprised if Birmingham City splash the cash again this summer

Whilst Prutton is right in the sense that financial regulations between League One and the Championship are different (in League One, Birmingham were able to spend spend 60% of their turnover on wages and transfer fees, whereas Championship clubs follow PSR rules, where they are governed by a rolling three-year period where they cannot exceed £39 million of losses), it will not stop Birmingham from trying to be a second tier powerhouse.

They've already got much of a squad in place that looks tailor-made for a crack at the Championship, with the likes of Jay Stansfield, Klarer, Tomoki Iwata among others proving far too classy for League One.

Further investment will inevitably be coming, and so will eye-watering transfers, as there are definitely gaps to fill within Chris Davies' squad that could be strengthened.

Don't be shocked therefore if come the end of the summer transfer window later on in 2025, Birmingham have a selection of players that on paper should be well-equipped for a crack at trying to get into the Championship's play-off picture - they could be better-placed than Ipswich were when they won back-to-back promotions into the Premier League.