An intriguing clause has emerged in the Tommy Doyle to Birmingham City transfer deal.

Birmingham City could end up shelling out a seven-figure transfer fee to Wolverhampton Wanderers if a certain condition of a transfer agreement is met.

Blues secured the signing of midfielder Tommy Doyle last month, bringing the Wolves man to St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park for the duration of the 2025/26 season. Doyle may spend more than just one campaign with Birmingham, however, as it’s now emerged a significant clause was included in the loan deal.

Wolves and Man City could profit from Doyle departure

According to our sister publication, the Express & Star, Birmingham have agreed to pay Wolves £10 million to sign Doyle permanently if they are promoted to the Premier League at the end of 2025/26. Blues have made some stellar signings this summer and have been backed by many for a second successive rise up the divisions, so it’s certainly possible.

If the clause ends up being activated, both Wolves and Manchester City will profit. It’s understood that Wanderers paid around £4.3 million to sign Doyle last year, with Man City holding a mega 50 per cent sell-on. So, if the midfielder does end up leaving Molineux for £10 million, City will be due £2.85 million and Wolves will land £7.15 million. That means Wanderers will themselves net a profit of £2.85 million, too.

That may not sound overly significant, but every million counts and Wolves would do well to profit on a player who hasn’t at all been in Vitor Pereira’s plans. Former head coach Gary O’Neil seemed to appreciate Doyle’s technical ability and passing range, hence he was signed, but he’s failed to make any impact under Pereira thus far.

Will Doyle start for Birmingham?

Having impressed in pre-season and proven in the past his capability to be among the best in the Championship, Doyle is likely to become a guaranteed starter right away. Although Tomoki Iwata and Paik Seung-ho maintained a formidable and mightily consistent partnership in League One, there’s no doubting Doyle is a level above. Of Iwata and Paik, the former would be the likeliest to play alongside Doyle.

Another option would be to play Doyle as a number 10 as he has excellent vision. Assists have never been particularly regular for Doyle in the past but he’s often played as a deeper-lying playmaker to kickstart attacks rather than finish them off, so that’s not too much of a surprise.

Despite his infrequent game time last season, Doyle ranked very highly among Premier League midfielders in a host of key statistics. The former Man City man’s 7.77 accurate long balls per 90 minutes, for example, couldn’t be bettered by anyone else in the division. Meanwhile, Doyle was in the top five per cent of midfielders for recoveries, touches and successful dribbles per 90.

Although the sample size was rather small, these metrics suggest Doyle is more than capable of competing at a Premier League level. As a result, this drop back down to the Championship could really see him flourish – just as he did at Sheffield United three seasons ago.