Birmingham City could aim for premium loan signings in the Championship this summer, following the success of Jhon Solis and Ibrahim Osman last season. The Blues utilised seven loan players during the 2025/26 campaign, with varying degrees of impact. Manager Chris Davies may need to rely on temporary deals again as they push for promotion.
Loan Success Stories
Birmingham struck gold in 2023 with Jay Stansfield, whose goals nearly kept the club up. Chairman Tom Wagner later made his move permanent. Jon Toral was another excellent loan signing in a previous era. Last season, Brighton trio James Beadle, Eiran Cashin and Ibrahim Osman, Wolves' Tommy Doyle, Girona's Jhon Solis, Liverpool's Lewis Koumas and Patrick Roberts all joined on loan. Roberts impressed enough to earn a permanent deal in January, and the club are now targeting Solis and Osman for permanent moves.
Learning from Rivals
Only Derby County, Watford, Preston, Hull City and Oxford United used more loan players than Blues. The best loanees can make the difference, as Carl Rushworth showed at Coventry. With 129 players on loan in the Championship last season, several premium options are available this summer.
Attacking Options
Birmingham need to improve their goal tally. Joe Gelhardt topped the loanee scoring charts with 15 goals for Hull, helping them reach the Premier League. Leeds may cash in on him. Will Lankshear, who scored 11 goals for Oxford, is a more attainable target. He trained under Davies at Tottenham. Ex-Blues midfielder Jordan James also scored 11 goals from midfield for Leicester, but may have outgrown the Championship.
Midfield and Defence Targets
Derby duo David Ozoh and Bobby Clark impressed in midfield. Alfie Devine contributed eight goals and six assists for Preston, and is known to Davies from Tottenham. At centre-back, Tottenham's Ashley Phillips has played 75 league games on loan at Stoke. Wingers like Romain Esse and Tommy Watson could be options if Osman does not return.
Full List of Championship Loans 2025/26
Below is every loan player used in the Championship last season, with their parent club, age, appearances and contributions where available.
Birmingham City
- James Beadle (GK, Brighton, 21, 35 starts, 3150 mins)
- Tommy Doyle (MID, Wolves, 24, 19+19, 1900 mins, 3 assists)
- Eiran Cashin (CB, Brighton, 24, 3+8, 416 mins)
- Lewis Koumas (FWD, Liverpool, 20, 7+16, 927 mins, 1 goal)
- Jhon Solis (MID, Girona, 21, 13+4, 1084 mins, 1 goal)
- Ibrahim Osman (WING, Brighton, 21, 13+4, 993 mins, 2 goals, 2 assists)
Other Clubs
Blackburn Rovers: Taylor Gardner-Hickman (Birmingham), Eiran Cashin (Brighton), Moussa Baradji (Yverdon Sport). Bristol City: Radek Vitek (Man Utd), Neto Borges (Middlesbrough), George Earthy (West Ham), Delano Burgzorg (Middlesbrough). Charlton Athletic: James Bree (Southampton), Harry Clarke (Ipswich), Luke Chambers (Liverpool), Jayden Fevrier (Stockport), Conor Coady (Wrexham). Coventry City: Carl Rushworth (Brighton), Yang Min-hyeok (Tottenham), Romain Esse (Crystal Palace), Frank Onyeka (Brentford). Derby County: Owen Beck (Liverpool), David Ozoh (Crystal Palace), Bobby Clark (Red Bull Salzburg), Dion Sanderson (Birmingham), Ben Brereton-Diaz (Southampton), Jayden Banel (Burnley), Sammie Szmodics (Ipswich). Hull City: Joel Ndala (Man City), John Lundstram (Trabzonspor), Joe Gelhardt (Leeds), Amire Hadziahmetovic (Besiktas), Yu Hirakawa (Bristol City), Toby Collyer (Man Utd), Lewis Koumas (Liverpool). Ipswich Town: Cedric Kipre (Reims), Jens Cajuste (Napoli), Chuba Akpom (Ajax), Ivan Azon (Como), Dan Neil (Sunderland). Leicester City: Julian Carranza (Feyenoord), Jordan James (Rennes), Aaron Ramsey (Burnley), Joe Aribo (Southampton), Divine Mukasa (Man City), Dujuan Richards (Chelsea). Middlesbrough: Sverre Nypan (Man City), Matt Targett (Newcastle), Alan Browne (Sunderland), Jeremy Sarmiento (Brighton), Joe Wildsmith (West Brom). Millwall: Steven Benda (Fulham), Thierno Ballo (Wolfsberger), Will Smallbone (Southampton), Anthony Patterson (Sunderland), Tom Watson (Brighton). Norwich City: Harry Amass (Man Utd), Sam Field (QPR). Oxford United: Luke Harris (Fulham), Nik Prelec (Cagliari), Will Lankshear (Tottenham), Ben Davies (Rangers), Filip Krastev (Lommel), Jamie Donley (Tottenham), Yunus Konak (Brentford), Christ Makosso (Luton), Ruben Roosken (Huddersfield). Portsmouth: Florian Blanchini (Swansea), Yang Min-yeok (Tottenham), Conor Chaplin (Ipswich), Millenic Alli (Luton), Aji Alese (Sunderland), Jacob Brown (Luton), Gustavo Caballero (Santos). Preston North End: Daniel Jebbison (Bournemouth), Alfie Devine (Tottenham), Lewis Dobbin (Aston Villa), Harrison Armstrong (Everton), Milos Lukovic (Strasbourg). Queens Park Rangers: Rhys Norrington-Davies (Sheffield United). Sheffield United: Tyler Bindon (Nottingham Forest), Louie Barry (Aston Villa), Djibril Soumare (Braga), Ben Godfrey (Atalanta), Chiedozie Ogbene (Ipswich), Ki-Jana Hoever (Wolves), Leo Hjelde (Sunderland), Kalvin Phillips (Man City). Sheffield Wednesday: Ethan Horvath (Cardiff), Harry Amass (Man Utd), Joe Lumley (Bristol City), Jaden Heskey (Man City), Murphy Cooper (QPR), Jerry Yates (Luton), Tayo Adaramola (Crystal Palace), Joel Ndala (Man City), Seny Dieng (Middlesbrough). Southampton: George Long (Norwich), Elias Jelert (Galatasaray), Daniel Peretz (Bayern Munich), Cyle Larin (Mallorca). Stoke City: Divin Mubama (Man City), Ashley Phillips (Tottenham), Jamie Donley (Tottenham), Gavin Bazunu (Southampton), Milan Smit (Go Ahead Eagles), Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (Crystal Palace). Swansea City: Kaelan Casey (West Ham), Malick Yalcouye (Brighton), Manuel Benson (Burnley), Ishe Samuels-Smith (Chelsea), Gustavo Nunes (Brentford), Leo Walta (Sirius). Watford: James Abankwah (Udinese), Luca Kjerrumgaard (Udinese), Caleb Wiley (Chelsea), Max Alleyne (Man City), Formose Mendy (Lorient), Stephen Mfuni (Man City), Saba Goglichidze (Udinese), Pierre Ekwah (Saint-Etienne). West Bromwich Albion: Toby Collyer (Man Utd), Samuel Iling-Junior (Aston Villa), Charlie Taylor (Southampton), Danny Imray (Crystal Palace), Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba (Aston Villa), Hindolo Mustapha (Crystal Palace). Wrexham: Issa Kabore (Man City).
