“Under the radar” – Claim made over £3.5m Birmingham City summer recruit
Birmingham City should expect to see more from Willum Willumsson in the future as Chris Davies finalizes his preferred attacking system.
It was a very active summer at St. Andrew’s, with the new manager receiving significant backing from the board in their bid to secure promotion to the Championship. While the £15m signing of Jay Stansfield garnered the most attention, the Blues also made substantial investments, by League One standards, in other players such as Christoph Klarer and Willumsson, both reportedly costing £3.5m each.
Willum Willumsson still finding his feet with Birmingham City
There was a lot of excitement surrounding the arrival of Willumsson, as he had performed very well with Go Ahead Eagles in the Dutch top-flight last season, where he scored seven goals as an attacking midfielder.
So, there is an expectation that the Icelandic international will become a key player in the third tier, but it’s fair to say Willumsson is yet to fully get going.
That’s not to say that he hasn’t contributed, as Willumsson does have one goal and one assist, and the 25-year-old does look like a class act, but fan pundit Mike told FLW that he thinks there’s more to come from the player, who has been overshadowed by other new signings in the opening weeks.
“I’m not quite sure he is living up to the billing to be honest, only because the bar has been set quite high by other players.
“Alfie May has done well, Alex Cochrane has been outstanding, I’m a really big fan of Klarer at the back. So, I think Willumsson has gone a little bit under the radar because he’s not had the same sort of impact as others.
The Birmingham City vs Wrexham match drew several high-profile attendees, including David Beckham, who seemed to enjoy the event.
Commenting on Birmingham’s situation, it was noted, “It was a big fee, there’s more to come, and Chris Davies is still figuring out his best attacking formation and player roles.”
Chris Davies will need time to establish himself at Birmingham City. While there’s a strong expectation for Blues to win the league this season, fans and the club anticipate immediate results from Davies and the expensive new signings. That said, the early weeks have been promising, with the team picking up positive results and adjusting well to the manager’s style of play.
However, it still needs to be acknowledged that Davies is a new manager, and there was a huge turnover of players in the summer, so patience is going to be required for some.
Willumsson falls into that category, but it’s clear he has a lot of technical ability, and he has the physicality to cope with the English game.
Therefore, fans should be excited, as you get the feeling there’s so much more to come from the whole team, and they’re still at the beginning of what is a long-term project.
| League One Table | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Wrexham | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| 2 | Birmingham City | 5 | 5 | 13 |
| 3 | Charlton Athletic | 6 | 3 | 13 |
| 4 | Huddersfield Town | 5 | 7 | 12 |
As noted earlier, Chris Davies is still trying to find the right formula for Birmingham City’s attack, and with the depth of talent at his disposal, which is exceptional for this level, it may take some time to determine his strongest starting XI.
Currently sitting second in the table, Blues will look to continue their strong start as they face Rotherham United on Saturday.
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