Intriguing new data names Birmingham City three best and worst players this season - including £10m star
Birmingham City are aiming to get themselves into the promotion race this season
Birmingham City have had a steady but unspectacular start to life back in the Championship after a busy summer of transfer activity. They have won half of their six matches, falling to defeat on two occasions and drawing once. The Blues have scored five times in this period but have also allowed five to go past them.
They signed a combined total of 14 players in the summer and it’s fair to say that a number of them are still finding their feet in the West Midlands, as they look to showcase their quality in an all-ready strong team - one that accumulated a record-breaking 111 points last season.
Birmingham are just one point behind the top six at this early stage, and only three adrift of the automatic promotion places. They have ambitions of achieving back-to-back promotions this term which has earned mixed verdicts from the Championship supercomputer and the bookmakers. But what is very clear to supporters and the fan base is that the team are expected to be in the upper echelons of the division come the end of the 46-game season.
With that in mind, we take a look at the standout performers from the Blues team so far that look ready to help them stage a promotion push, as well as those that are still yet to hit the heights required to reach the promised land of the Premier League in these early weeks.
The top three performing Birmingham City players so far
Central defender Christoph Klarer, who looked a class above in League One last season, has been Birmingham City’s standout performer in the Championship so far, based on data from WhoScored. Their analysts have given the Austrian an average rating of 7.26 since the start of the campaign, with the 25-year-old winning the Man of the Match award on two separate occasions.
Jack Robinson also scores favourably in second position with a rating of 7.12. He’s only played once in the league for Birmingham since making his move from Sheffield United and that came during a 1-0 win over Swansea City. Robinson played the full 90 minutes and was a calming presence at the back, winning six aerial duels.
Alex Cochrane sits third in the list with a rating of 6.86. He’s played four matches this season and has carried on his steady form after helping the team to a league title in record-breaking fashion last term.
The three Birmingham City stars that have underwhelmed so far
Focusing solely on players that have started a match this season, Kyogo Furuhashi has been the most underwhelming, according to WhoScored. The former Celtic man, who is yet to score in the league, has an average rating of 6.1 and has already squandered a league-high six big opportunities to get off the mark.
Lewis Koumas is another that’s not yet found his form at St Andrew’s. He’s played twice as a starter and once as a substitute and has a rating of 6.11 so far.
Goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, who has so far kept his place between the posts after winning the Golden Glove last term, is also struggling to produce his best form. He’s been given a rating of 6.18 so far, which could potentially open the door to summer signing James Beadle later in the campaign.