How Birmingham City’s experience-first transfer model is driving a push for the Premier League

Birmingham City have adopted an experience-first transfer model as they chase a return to the Premier League, prioritising players with proven senior minutes rather than the youth-focused strategy favoured by many elite clubs.

The approach, instigated when the club were in League One at the start of the 2024-25 campaign, is overseen by head of recruitment Joe Carnall and coordinated by director of football Craig Gardner. Since that reset the Blues have brought in 14 new players, including loans, with an average age of 26.1, a pattern the club says is intended to deliver immediate results and limit the developmental risk of very young signings.

Carnall, who was promoted from chief scout and has a coding and analytics background, runs a metrics-driven filter that Birmingham use to screen targets. One central criterion is senior competitive experience: the recruitment team will generally only progress with players who have accumulated up to three seasons of senior football. Durability is another priority; the club looks for players who can sustain a nine-month campaign and be consistently available, a consideration echoed in coaching circles as a premium asset.

Gardner, a former Premier League midfielder who has twice played for Birmingham, is described by the club as the operational lead on negotiations and agent relations. The club’s owners, investment firm Knighthead Capital, who took control two years ago, and investor Tom Brady have supported the recruitment budget, but Birmingham’s staff say wages have been the larger financial outlay this summer rather than transfer fees.

The strategy has produced a blend of profiles. High-fee signings such as Jay Stansfield, brought in for about £15 million despite only being 21 at the time, had made his first-team debut years earlier; other recruits include experienced defenders and midfielders such as Christoph Klarer, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Phil Neumann and loan signing Tommy Doyle from Wolves. The club point to that blend as evidence the model emphasises readiness to contribute immediately over potential alone.

Birmingham’s recruitment department drives the process, with manager Chris Davies retaining final say on targets. Davies, who previously worked alongside Brendan Rodgers at Swansea, Liverpool, Celtic and Leicester and spent a year with Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham, has been described as wanting players who are "robust" and able to cope with the Championship’s physical demands.

The Blues have also tested the market at higher levels. Sources say Birmingham held meetings with Benfica midfielder Leandro Barreiro, who has 13 Champions League appearances, and Anderlecht’s Mario Stroeykens, both of whom were reluctant to leave clubs offering European competition. Emi Buendia of Aston Villa was among players monitored as Birmingham sought additional creativity, and the club continues to explore markets in Japan and South Korea, having recruited players linked to those regions previously.

Birmingham employ a part-time translator for their Japanese contingent and have targeted the J-League as a source of value. That approach produced players including Paik Seung-ho, who arrived from Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in January 2024 after a spell with Barcelona’s La Masia, and attracted interest in other Far East-born players.

There are, however, financial and sporting risks attached to the model. The club has invested heavily in wages since promotion from League One, and executives acknowledge a tougher regulatory environment and tighter spending rules in the Championship than in the Premier League. If Birmingham fail to achieve promotion, the scale of their wage bill and the salaries of players who are out of favour could make it difficult to rebalance the squad. The club has moved some contracts off the books — notably Alfie May, Grant Hanley and Krystian Bielik — but other departures could be harder to negotiate because many signings were offered substantial pay increases when they arrived.

Birmingham’s investors have indicated the spending will be matched by a push to grow revenue, but executives concede that sustained investor and sponsor interest is more likely if the club reaches the top flight. Several players who rejected Birmingham this summer could become more receptive to talks if the club secures promotion, the recruitment team believes, underlining the stated aim of reaching the Premier League within two to three seasons.

On the field, the club made a steady start to life back in the Championship, taking seven points from a possible 12 before the most recent international break. Recruitment executives say the early-season results validate the model to date, but they also emphasize that promotion remains the key metric by which the project will ultimately be judged.