Chris Davies has cast doubt over the Birmingham City futures of Kai Wagner and Kyogo Furuhashi after leaving the pair out of Wednesday’s friendly at Solihull Moors, a 3-0 victory for Blues.
Absent players raise questions
Wagner and Kyogo – who netted twice in Blues’ friendly win over Huddersfield Town on Friday – were among six notable omissions from the squad. Ethan Laird and Marvin Ducksch were back at base nursing injuries, Patrick Roberts missed out through illness, and Jay Stansfield wasn’t quite fit enough to feature. However, Davies admitted to BirminghamLive post-match that Wagner and Kyogo’s absences were not injury or illness-related.
“Kai and Kyogo, things will be clearer with those two in the next couple of days,” said Davies. “There’s been a few things happening in the background and that will become clearer in the next 48 hours but tonight wasn’t a night to include them.”
Wagner's impact and competition
Wagner only joined Blues from Philadelphia Union in January and has become a key player in the set-up. The German started 16 games in the second half of the Championship season and appeared set to begin the new campaign as first choice, despite intense competition from Alex Cochrane and the fit-again Lee Buchanan.
Kyogo's struggles and potential exit
Kyogo, meanwhile, only scored three goals in 31 outings for Blues last season after a high-profile transfer from Rennes. Blues were understood to be open to offers for Kyogo towards the end of the January transfer window, and the striker has slipped down the pecking order under Davies.
