Many Championship sides will be jealous of double Birmingham City transfer - View | OneFootball

Birmingham City's Tomoki Iwata and Paik Seung-ho are already looking a class above for the League One leaders.

Birmingham City have been brilliant this season, as they sit top of League One after nine games.

Of course, given the incredible summer spending spree, many expect Blues to win the title, and boss Chris Davies is unlikely to get too many plaudits for guiding the club back to the Championship.

However, money doesn’t guarantee success for many reasons, and Davies still has to mould these new recruits into a functioning team - which he has done.

As well as that, you need to spend wisely, and the recruitment team at Birmingham deserve huge credit for the way they’ve gone about things.

Birmingham City’s midfield duo are excelling

The Jay Stansfield transfer is the one that attracted most of the headlines, but Blues have done some shrewd business.

And, one standout deal is Tomoki Iwata, with the midfielder joining from Celtic late in the summer, and some Championship clubs may be wondering how he slipped through the net.

He has quickly settled into life at St. Andrew’s, and with Blues’ keeping Paik Seung-ho, it means Davies now has a brilliant midfield partnership.

Simply put, the duo are far too good for League One, both individually and collectively.

Iwata has brought power and energy to the middle of the park, with the 27-year-old also chipping in with two fine goals in five games.

Meanwhile, Paik is a technically assured footballer, and he too has energy, as well as real quality on the ball.

For the attacking players, the duo are a dream. They look to play at a high tempo, and they have the technique to play quickly.

When receiving the ball from the defence, they will try to go forward with purpose, but, if that isn’t on, they are capable when it comes to retaining possession, which is obviously vital for Davies in the way he wants to play.

However, Iwata and Paik are also excellent out-of-possession.

Another demand from Davies is that Blues press high to win the ball back, and the midfield players are very good at that.

Crucially, they aren’t headless chickens just chasing the ball aimlessly, with Paik and Iwata intelligent at how they close down, and it sets the tone for the rest of the team.

Such energy and drive can also be infectious, and you do get the feeling that their attitude and desire rubs off on the rest of the side.

Paik Seung-ho and Tomoki Iwata can be part of Birmingham City's future

Whilst the short-term goal for Birmingham is promotion, the reality is that the owners have bigger ambitions for the club.

So, you can be sure that the recruitment team will have one eye on the future, and players will be battling to stay part of the group as they push to reach the Premier League.

In Iwata and Paik, Davies has two players who could be integral for the years to come, as they already look a class above most.

After a huge turnover of players this summer, it could’ve taken time for this Blues side to click, but there is quality all over the park.

Iwata and Paik are central to that, and even though they’ve played just five league games together, they have already developed a strong understanding, and they are arguably as good as any midfield partnership outside the top-flight.